


Redemption for the Blue Hearts

by TheGirlWhoLikesTooMuchStuff



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU where our favorite trickster god has a bigger role to play in these two Avengers stories, Low-Key Endgame Fix-It, infinity war fix-it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 10:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 100,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19003951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlWhoLikesTooMuchStuff/pseuds/TheGirlWhoLikesTooMuchStuff
Summary: “Oh my God,” Bruce whispered. “That’s right. He’s coming, isn’t he? Thanos.”Dr. Strange glanced at Wong and the both of them looked lost. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, who?”Loki sighed and rubbed his aching head. These idiots really didn’t know anything did they? “Well, it is just marvelous to be back on Earth.”





	1. Prologue: The 1,325 Year Old Promise

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. Avengers and all the characters in this story belong to Marvel Studios. This story is based on Avengers: Infinity War (and Avengers: Endgame slightly) and this story is made for entertainment purposes only._

_Author’s Note: So…_

_I saw Infinity War and was like wow this is amazing but, damn I wish Loki didn’t die in the first five minutes. Then I had this dream where he helped Thor in the movie and was like what a good idea for a fan fiction! But I changed it up to be more “dramatic” and thus I created this story. I have published it on FanFiction.Net for over a year, but after receiving a PM (Private Message) from **TheUndefeatable** I have decided to also upload my story to this lovely site. _

_Before we go on, to anyone who has not seen this story before, this story follows the course of Infinity War with a few differences, has a few flash backs that go into detail of what happened to Loki before the events of the first Avengers film, and it goes into an AU that I had created before Endgame came out. I also regularly ignore some aspects of the canon, like Hope disappearing at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp._

_To everyone who has been reading my story through FanFiction.Net, here you go! Another way to read it!_

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_

“I believe everything will turn out alright, brother.” Those were Thor’s attempt at calming and comforting words. They were a true testament to how hopeful and how naïve Thor could be. In Loki’s mind, traveling back to Earth was a monumental mistake that would led to his brother reuniting with his “mightiest hero” friends and to him having a huge headache. Not to mention, he would have to endure the hardship of having all of the Avengers constantly giving him suspicious looks. Being the God of Mischief always meant that people were distrustful of him, but going to Earth… It seemed like asking for unnecessary trouble.

None of that mattered anymore.

All the dissatisfaction he felt with the knowledge that they were indeed going to Earth, flew out the window the second he saw the huge and looming ship come into their view.

Not just any ship.

Thanos’s ship.

_Stars above._

He had never thought that he would see that horrible ship again. He never thought he would feel that instant gut clenching dread that he had felt when he had been on that ship for months. And suddenly he wasn’t on their small port ship, drifting through space, standing next to his brother. Loki was taken somewhere else. A dark and cold place. A place where death was a mercy.

It had been a ship that was a labyrinth of cells. Shadows hugged every corner and they hid the Titan whenever he visited Loki, but his voice was a cruel reminder that he was there just within reach. _“Let me show you what you truly meant to those soulless Asguardians.”_ And then there was nothing but blinding pain.

Loki blinked away the stinging tears and returned back in the present. “We have to evacuate the ship,” he murmured. If Thor hadn’t been so close to him, he doubted that he even would have heard him.

“Evacuate the ship? Loki, what are you-? Wait! Where are you going?”

Loki was already running out of Thor’s self-claimed captain’s quarters. He didn’t know what Thanos’s plans were, if he even had any, for them, but he didn’t care to know them. They couldn’t risk it, they had to get as many people off the ship as possible. They had about forty pods on the ship for emergencies like this and then there were fifteen work pods that were meant to be used at shipping areas to empty the ship of trading goods.

So, fifty-five in total and there were over a thousand people on the ship. The work pods could only hold about four or five people, but the emergency pods could hold up to twenty people. Let’s see, twenty people on forty pods…that was about eight hundred, plus, let’s just figure five people on the fifteen work pods…that was a total of eight hundred and seventy-five.

They couldn’t possibly save everyone.

Thor, who had been running after him, grabbed Loki by the shoulder. His strong grip stopped Loki midstride. “Loki, will you please explain what is happening?” Thor asked in his usual dumb way.

Loki shook his head frantically. “There is no time to explain. Listen to me, we have to have Valkyrie and your annoying rock friend get all of the women and children to the emergency and work pod ships. There is only room for about eight hundred and seventy-five people, give or take a few. We also need to have every able bodied man and possibly woman who knows how to fight-”

“Loki?” Thor said in confusion. His one eye twinkled with worry. Loki could understand his confusion, but the worry? “Loki, you’re shaking.”

Was he? He looked down at his hands, both were trembling. “Yes, I see that.”

Thor reached out for him, placing both of his hands on his shoulders. “Alright. Just breathe. And try to tell me, _calmly_ , why we should evacuate the ship just because we came across another ship.”

Once again, Thor’s words were a blend of his own calmness and naïveté. Had the situation been different, Loki would have rolled his eyes and have snapped something like, “This is not just “another ship.” Do you think I am so much a coward to flee from anything that we come across?” But this was not a time to be quick-witted.

“Thor, brother, _please_. Just trust me.” He hated that he had to resort to begging, but he knew that would grab Thor’s attention. It sort of worked but not really.

“I do trust you. I just want to know-”

“Who controls the would be king!” Loki shouted, impatiently. Thor jumped back startled. “You asked me that very question a long time ago, brother. Who controls the would be king and gave me my army and my scepter.” Thor nodded in remembrance. “Well, the…the… _monster_ who captains that ship controlled the would be king and let me assure you, brother, he is not one to underestimate.”

Thor finally had a look of understanding, which was a good thing because suddenly there was a terrible sound of metal being ripped apart by an explosion and the entire ship shook violently. Loki and Thor both lost their footing and fell to the floor. Loki gave Thor a pleading look. “Now do you wish to evacuate the ship?”

“Yes. That is a very good idea. Come on.” Thor was back on his feet in no time and he offered his hand to Loki. Loki blew his hair out of his face and took it. Thor pulled him to his feet and then they both ran to the main control center on the ship. “Perhaps next time,” Thor started, “you should start by saying, “Oh, brother, remember when I acted like a fool and attacked Earth? Well, there’s a fellow in this ship here, who gave me my army and apparently is not happy with me.” That way, we can save time.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind,” Loki said annoyed.

They both ran into the control center. Valkyrie, Hemidall, the rock guy and his fellow revolution followers, and a few of the Asguardians were all there picking themselves up and looking startled. Well, all looked startled except for Valkyrie. She stood up and shouted, “Why did that stupid ship fire at us?! Do they want us to move, is that? Don’t they see how big space is! They can just go around us!”

Loki couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Well, maybe they don’t understand how vast and large space truly is,” the rock guy said in his slow way. “I mean take me for example. I didn’t understand how space could be so large when it looks so small on those space charts with the stars and the planets.”

“They’re not firing at us because we’re in their way, you idiots!” Loki shouted. “They’re firing at us because they’re bad people.”

Hemidall nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen the ship’s leader and he has plans to board our ship and wreak havoc.”

“Alright, everyone listen to me,” Thor called, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. “We need to evacuate the ship. I want all the families with children to go down first to the emergency pods and then the elderly and then whoever else is left. I realize that this ship is not equipped to fight back, but anyone who wishes to stay with me and defend it to the best of our abilities will have my appreciation.”

“Count me in,” Valkyrie said pulling out her sword.

Loki sighed. Of course the woman would stay and fight to her death, it was in her nature. Brunnhilde, who simply went by the name “Valkyrie,” was the perfect incarnation of a former version of Thor; they were both so willing to fight and had thick skulls. Saying that they had “thick skulls” was being nice.

Thor shook his head. “I need you and Korg to help make sure everyone gets on the pods safely.”

Valkyrie huffed disappointed, but didn’t argue the manner. “Come on Korg,” she said as she took fast long strides out of the room.

“The evacuation has begun,” Korg said as he picked up his little friend, Miek and followed Valkyrie. 

Several of the Asguardians in the room quickly followed them and a few elected to stay on board. Thor smiled affectionately at those who choose to fight with him. He shouldn’t have been so surprised at his people’s loyalty; they did love him after all. Loki had known that his entire life and it was the reason he had been so jealous of his brother. Even when Thor had been a selfish, attention seeking buffoon, the citizens of Asguard loved their golden prince. 

“Hemidall,” Thor started, walking over to the former gate keeper. He motioned out the large window at Thanos’s ship. “What are they doing out there? Why haven’t they fired more?”

Hemidall took a deep breath and let it out slowly, concentrating on looking into the ship and seeing Thanos. “They are playing with us. They want to see what we do before boarding.”

Loki shuddered at the thought of Thanos and his hoard of minions boarding their ship. Thor kept his cool. “We should send out a distress message. Maybe someone will come and-”

“And what? Rescue us?” Loki asked, skeptically.

Thor shrugged and sent some people to send a message out. Thor kept giving orders like the good king he was and Loki stood off to the sidelines fidgeting. Every second of waiting for Thanos to unleash the full power of his arsenal became increasingly stressful. And worst still, Loki had the sinking feeling that he was the one who was to blame for Thanos being here.

He did have the Tesseract.

He should have just left it on Asguard to burn with his sister and the rest of the city then maybe the Titan wouldn’t be here right now.

_Idiot! There was no place Thanos couldn’t find you. The fact that you have the damn cube doesn’t change that._

“Loki.”

He looked up and saw Thor staring at him. “Yes?”

“I want you to go and help the others get on the pods safely. See if you can get Korg and Valkyrie on one and see if you can get yourself on one.”

Loki blinked several times, not sure if he heard him right. “You want me to run away?”

“No, I want you to get yourself and the others to safety.”

“So…run away?”

Thor sighed, “You know I am staying on the ship to defend it with my last breath and if something where to happen to me, then the survivors need a leader. And I want that to be you, brother.”

Loki’s head was spinning. “No. I’m-I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here.”

“Loki-”

“No! I am. You have no idea what you are fighting against, I do. I’m staying!”

Thor strangely seemed sad and agreed. “Alright, you’re staying. I do however want you to help Korg and Valkyrie and get them on a pod.”

Loki nodded. “Fine and what will you be doing?”

“Looking for Hulk. Not sure where he disappeared to.”

Of course, their big green beast. Maybe they did stand a chance against Thanos after all. 

…

Loki went down three floors to reach the pods. There was a sort of mass hysteria among the people trying to get themselves on a seat on a pod that was only contained by Valkyrie’s long ranged shouting. Korg stood point, directing people. “Everyone stay calm and cool. If all the kiddies with their parents and the grey haired individuals could please form a nice straight line that would be great.”

Loki made his way around the lines and crowds of high-strung, scared people. “What are you doing here, lackey?” Valkyrie asked when she saw him.

“It’s _Loki_ and Thor sent me to help you.”

“I don’t need your help. I’ve got this completely under control.”

“Sure, is that why everyone is running around?”

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. Loki stood with her and together they watched to make sure no one got into the pods ahead of the families with children and the elderly and once or twice they both had to go and breakup the start of a fight between the anxious people. “Stupid people, why can’t they just be patient.”

Loki didn’t respond. He was just waiting for the moment when everyone realized that there wasn’t enough room for all onboard. The already frenzy would raise exceptionally and the desperate people trying to get a seat would fight even more.

He still couldn’t believe that Thor wanted him to get on one of the pods and run away. Was he crazy? Thor had no idea what Thanos was cable of and he was going to send away the only person who did? On the other hand, all Loki wanted to do was be a coward and run away. Who knew what Thanos would do with him if he found him. And it was kind of nice that Thor wanted him to be the leader if something happened to him. Not that anything would happen to Thor, the oaf was too stubborn to die.

The emergency pods were the first to be filled and sent out into space. Nearly all of them had been deployed when Loki realized that there were only about thirty people left waiting to get on to a pod. Maybe they would have enough room to save everyone who did not want to stay behind after all. Loki left Valkyrie and went up to Korg. “Get yourself on a pod.”

“Oh, alright man. Do you want to get on one too?”

“No.”

“Okay. Oh, can Miek come with me? He doesn’t take up much space and I can just carry him around so,-”

“Yes. Alright, that’s fine. Just get on the pod.” 

Korg nodded and Miek made a soft sound, which Loki assumed meant, “okay”. They got onto an empty pod ship and soon they were not alone. Valkyrie came up beside Loki and said, “Only have a few more.”

“Yes, I noticed.”

The pod that Korg was on started to rumble to life. Clear glass came down between the load zone and the pod so no one else could get on and no one could get off. Then the pod’s door closed and the entire thing was shot out into space. The few people who were left quickly filed on board the last emergency pod.

“You should get on this one,” Loki told Valkyrie.

She looked at him like he had gone crazy. “Why would I do that? There’s still a fight to be had.”

Loki sighed, “So is it safe to assume that you will not be leaving of your own free will?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then in that case I only have one thing to say.”

“What?” Valkyrie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I think that there is some unresolved sexual tension between you and my brother.”

Valkyrie’s jaw dropped. “What would give you a stupid idea like that?”

“Well, it’s the only logical reason I can come up with for why he would want to save you.” And before she could even think of a reply, he pushed her onto the pod. She stumbled around, but she didn’t fall down. Once she realized she was on board she tried to run back off the pod, but the clear glass had already come down. She smacked right into it and fell to the ground.

Loki smiled, happy with himself that he had timed getting her on board so perfectly and also how silly she looked when she ran into the glass. Valkyrie didn’t stay down for too long and soon she was banging on the glass with her fists. “You bastard! You distracted me!”

“God of Mischief, remember?”

“Why you little-” But she was cut off by the door shutting and the pod going out to space. Loki let a deep breath he hadn’t know he had been holding. At least most of the people were safe now and he had abided Thor’s wishes. Now, came the tricky part, confronting Thanos.

He started making his way back up to the control center when there was another explosion, and then another, and then another. Thanos had started his attack and he wasn’t holding back. Loki ran for the control center, but then he would fall to the ground every time the ship was struck, so it was a tedious process. When he was only a floor away, a fiery blast went off to his left throwing him to ground with almost enough force to knock him out.

He found it hard to get back up, he could hardly get on his hands and knees. His head hurt and he felt like the whole world was spinning.

_What a time to get a concussion._

And everything started to go black…

“Well, look what I found here.”

That was a woman’s voice. 

A voice he knew. 

How long had he been out? Was he alive? 

Dumb question. 

Someone grabbed him by the back of his collar and rolled him on his back.

“It _is_ you,” the woman who he knew from somewhere said happily. “Father, will be so pleased.”

 _Father? Oh, oh no._

He did know that voice. The voice belonged to a woman named Proxima Midnight and she was a part of Thanos’s Black Order. She was one of Thanos’s many daughters. He opened his eyes slowly. Midnight had her black three bladed spear pointed at him. Her thin white lips were twisted into a cruel smirk and her navy blue eyes sparkled in the light of the burning ship. He turned his head to the side with a groan. The corridor that he was in was no longer bright or shiny with newness that it had been before he had been knocked out. The metal was mangled and burnt, the lights were flashing red, and everything was in pieces.

“Stand up!” Midnight shouted. 

His head felt like it had been caved in by a steam shovel. Sitting up would take likely about thirty minutes to accomplish, but the murderous psychopath wanted him to stand right now.

_Joy to the blessed world…_

He tried to get to his feet without teetering but it was useless. He thought about healing himself with his magic, at least enough to take the edge off, but he decided against it at this point. It was better to not let them see him using his powers. He remembered being in his cell aboard Thanos’s ship and being beaten within an inch of his life when someone had learned that he was healing his previous injuries. So early on he learned to deal with the pain and not rely so heavily on his healing ability.  
He was on his feet. Finally. 

Midnight pointed in the direction he had been going when the blast that knocked him out had gone off. He staggered around while Midnight followed close behind with her spear pointed at the back of his head. He ignored her snickering when he lost his footing going up the flight of stairs that led to the control center.  
The control center was in worse shape than the corridor he had been in, of course that was probably because most of the explosions had taken place here. He cautiously glanced down at the floor and watched his step; there were bodies everywhere. They littered the ground. Most were dead and the few that weren’t would soon be killed by the rest of the Black Order.

Loki saw the others, Corvus Glaive, Cull Obsidian, and somewhere he knew that Ebony Maw was around. He always loved a little death. These weren’t all the children that Thanos had, but they certainly were the ugliest. There were other children that he had caught glimpses of, a heartless green assassin, an actual blood child, a Kree who usually was with the four who were here. And there was another one that Loki knew of. The very thought of her made him hope and pray that she was here.  
Although why was anyone’s guess. If she was somewhere on board the ship she wouldn’t help him fight her father or intervene when, not if, Thanos tried to kill him. She had made that much clear six years ago.

Loki pushed the memories of the past away and focused at the matter at hand: He was standing with all of the Black Order around him. Thanos was just now coming onboard the ship and he picked up the still alive Thor by the head as he did so. Loki felt every emotion possible, fear, anger, hopelessness. But he attempted to keep himself relaxed so he didn’t give himself away.

Thanos spoke in his thunderous way about the things he usually spoke about and he asked Loki for the Tesseract. So, he had been correct, Thanos was here because of the Tesseract. He knew what this meant, Thanos was trying to get the Infinity Stones again. Although this time he was doing it himself. He already had the purple Power Stone set in place on his Infinity Gauntlet. 

He couldn’t give it to Thanos. Every fiber in his body told him he should not, under any circumstances, give this maniac the Tesseract. But he knew what would happen if he didn’t. Thor would die.

This was the definition of Hell.

Watch his brother die or give a mad man a vital piece of the puzzle to destroy half the universe. An impossible choice that Loki was forced to make.  
He tried to keep his strong front together when he told Thanos to kill away, but it was not too many seconds after seeing Thor being put through utter agony because of the Power Stone, that his emotions started to shine through. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t watch this. He was so weak.

“All right, stop!”

Thanos did and Loki conjured up the Tesseract with a gesture of his hand. Thor shook his head in disbelief and muttered, “Brother, you are the worst.” This time Loki had to agree with him. Thanos dropped Thor to the ground like a bag of old potatoes. 

“The sun will shine on us again, brother,” he said as Thanos took the cube. It was his turn to say calming and comforting words. And it was at that very moment that Loki saw in the corner of his eye Hulk buried in some rubble. He was awake and trying to get himself out from underneath the twisted metal. Loki adverted his eyes back to Thanos.  
The Titan crushed the cube with a squeeze of his fingers and blew away the broken shards of glass that remained revealing the small blue Space Stone in all of its wonder. Thanos placed it in his Gauntlet next to the Power Stone. Two down, four to go. Not too long ago if you had asked Loki if it were possible for anyone to be in procession of two Infinity Stones he would have laughed right in your face. But now he was witnessing it.

“You have more faith then you should, Asguardian,” Thanos told him, obviously jeering.

Loki glanced over at Hulk who was glaring at the back of Thanos’s head. It wouldn’t be long now… 

“For one, I’m not Asguardian. And for another, we have a Hulk.” And then he ran to Thor and threw both him and himself down to the ground just as the green beast broke free and came charging towards Thanos. Loki and Thor both sat to the sidelines and watched as Hulk held his own against Thanos for the first few moments. Hulk punched the Titan viciously and repeatedly in the head and just as Loki began to think they might have a chance, Thanos swung his right fist, caught Hulk in the jaw, and sent him flying backwards. Hulk let out a loud roar and went back to continue the fight. “I don’t know if he’ll win this one,” Loki muttered.

Thor put his hand on Loki’s shoulder. Loki turned to face him. “Then what’s your plan, brother?”

Loki shrugged, “I don’t know. Maybe you hit him with a lightning bolt and I try to stab him in the neck.”

“Do you really think you can stop this giant with a tiny dagger?”

“Well, you’re the _king_. What’s your plan?”

Thanos slammed Hulk against a wall and punched him in the gut multiple times. Hulk grunted and seemed to grow weary. Thanos took advantage of this moment of weakness and threw him to the ground. Hulk stayed down.

“Do you know that mother made me promise to keep you safe?”

Loki wasn’t sure if he heard Thor correctly. He glanced at him. “I’m sorry?”

Thor smiled weakly in remembrance. “When she first came to my room with you. You were such a small thing, all pale with large eyes. She said that I was a big brother now and I had to look after you. She made me promise.”

Loki was stunned. Thor had never told him that. It was also a weird time to be telling him this. Maybe he thought they were done for and wanted to leave on a sentimental note. If that were the case, there were so many things Loki should say. So many things that he had wanted to say but never did.

Thanos chuckled at the sight of Hulk bleeding and at this point, no longer a threat. His children chuckled too, in a feeble attempt to gain their father’s approval. It wouldn’t be long till Thanos found Loki and Thor off to the side hidden by a metal beam. And then what? Was this how it would all end?

Thor glanced out from their hiding spot and glanced at the area where Hulk was still laying semiconscious. He turned back to Loki. “I made that promise one thousand three hundred and twenty five years ago. I haven’t always kept it, brother, but I intend to do so now.”

“What are you say-?”

“Hemidall! Now!”

Thor jumped up from their hiding spot, dragging Loki with him. Hemidall was alive and on the ground next to Hulk. He closed his eyes and stretched his hand out towards Hulk. He conjured up some dark energy and used it to form a Bifrost like white light that sucked Hulk up and went flying towards the large broken window in the control center. “Good luck, brother,” Thor said and he pushed Loki in the line of the Bifrost.

Loki didn’t have time to process what was happening and then suddenly he was in the familiar rainbow white light speeding away to who knew where.  
What the hell just happened? Why did this just happen? Was Thor so much an idiot that he thought that this was a good idea? This was a terrible idea! Thor couldn’t possibly take on Thanos or any of the Black Order by himself. Even with his new found lightning powers.

Loki and Hulk continued traveling through the different galaxies, passing by many planets and stars and moons, until they reached a galaxy that they both knew. They were speeding towards Earth. Was it Loki’s imagination or were they going faster than what they usually did when traveling by Bifrost? The city seemed to be rushing towards them awfully- 

_Oh, you have got to be kidding._

They were going to crash into a building.

…

_Warm soft memories of childhood._

_Can you believe that was centuries ago._

_He was a child, running with Thor through a golden field of grass. There was a silver stream that ran through the field that had shiny blue and green fish swimming upstream. White butterflies were hidden in the grass and they all flew up out in surprise when the two boys came running through. The sky was clear and the sun was high. It was beautiful.  
This is where he went when he didn’t know what to do or how to cope. This unimportant day from his childhood. When things were so much simpler._

“Loki? Loki can you hear me?”

_The happiness faded away into a dark abyss. And he was falling. Falling forever. He would surly die at some point. But he didn’t. He went through something much worse than death._

“I don’t think he can hear me. He might have a concussion or something. But you said you were a doctor, right? Can’t you examine him?”

_Cold shadows hung to cells and there was blinding pain. “Why didn’t you just let me die?” he whimpered._

_“Because you have potential to be a worthy ally.”_

“Yes. Okay, fine. Wong, keep your shields up though. I don’t need him attacking us.”

_There was no comfort on the ship. Nothing. Except for the girl with blue skin and cold hands who wanted to talk._

“Attacking us? Look at him. He can’t hurt a fly.”

_He eventually gave in to what Thanos wanted him to do; it did make some sense to become King of Earth. Right? He attacked New York and failed. He had lost both of his parents before they had even died, he had a sister that nobody knew about who he helped kill, and now Thor was…was…_

“Thank you, Dr. Banner, for your input. But I have to worry about protecting this sanctuary and whether or not if this man looks harmless, does not change the fact that he attacked this very city five years ago.” 

_Thor._

It all came rushing back. The attack on their ship, the evacuation, Thanos getting the Tesseract, Thor keeping a 1,325 year old promise to their mother. Thor pushed him in front of the Bifrost. Thor was going to fight Thanos by himself.

Loki’s eyes popped open and he yelled, “That witless oaf!”

A disheveled looking Bruce Banner, Dr. Steven Strange, and another man who he assumed was Wong all jumped back at his sudden outburst. Strange and Wong both took a defensive stance and brought up their magical shields. Bruce however sighed in relief that Loki was awake and he asked, “Who’s an oaf?”

“My brother! The God of Poor Decision Making! If he thinks that he can take on Thanos all by himself, then-then…” He was too angry to finish his thought.

“Oh my God,” Bruce whispered. “That’s right. He’s coming, isn’t he? Thanos.”

Dr. Strange glanced at Wong and the both of them looked lost. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, who?”

Loki sighed and rubbed his aching head. These idiots really didn’t know anything did they? “Well, it is just marvelous to be back on Earth.”


	2. Chapter One: Return of “Reindeer Games”

They were in New York City, in Dr. Steven Strange’s sanctuary, the very one that Loki and Thor had visited several weeks ago. Well, Thor visited, Loki fell through a portal for thirty minutes and then crashed to the polished marble floor. Now, he had a chance to look around more at the beautiful sanctuary, filled with its artifacts and grand architecture. 

Oh it was nothing like the interiors of Asgard but it had a very nice look about it.

Unfortunately, Loki and Bruce had sort of destroyed the grand staircase when they crash landed. Oh well. The wizard probably had the place insured.

Wong was busy flipping through pages in a thick hard covered book. He was a chubby, shorter man that didn’t look all that powerful, but Loki had seen that he knew the same magic that the good Doctor knew and he wasn’t about to mess with anybody who could send him falling through another portal. Bruce had been given a pair of ill-fitting clothes and his hair was still a wild mop of brown and gray. He was sitting on a hunter green elegant looking couch, his leg twitching. Dr. Strange had his large red cloak cape thing on and stood with his arms crossed, eyeing Loki the whole time while he used his own powers to heal his head injury.

“You needn’t be so suspicious of me,” Loki said, once he was done and felt much better. His head no longer hurt and he didn’t feel like he was going to fall flat on his face, but he knew he would have to take it easy.

Strange scoffed, “You are a deranged sociopath who killed hundreds of innocent people five years ago when you decided to take over the world. I have every reason to be suspicious.”

“Deranged is a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

“Laugh all you want. The only reason you aren’t screaming your head off in an infinite fall right now, is because of Dr. Banner.”

Loki stood up from his chair. Strange uncrossed his arms and was prepared to bring up his shields again. Loki simply smirked at his overreaction. He magically transformed his clothes to that of a black suit with a green tie. Strange looked confused. “Well, I don’t want to stand out here, do I? I’m not like you with your big obnoxious cape and collar.”

Strange rolled his eyes. “For the record, Mr. Trying to Blend In, I’ve seen YouTube videos where you were wearing a horn helmet.”

“I’ve found it,” Wong interrupted and carried the heavy volume over to a table. He set it down and pointed to the dusty old page. Bruce jumped from his seat and practically ran to the table. Loki and Strange both gave each other a, I could totally beat you in a fight, look and went to see what Wong had found.

Bruce had been looking over the pages of the book first and said, “Yeah. These are it. These are those stones that Thanos had. Don’t you think so?” He turned to Loki as he came up beside him. Loki scanned over the pages. They were written in some sort of ancient script that he didn’t recognize but off to the side were drawings of six stones, one each color of the rainbow.

“Yes. Those are the Infinity Stones.”

Wong nodded. “And you said that this Thanos has two of them already?”

“Correct.”

Dr. Strange placed his hand on the book and dragged it across the table to him. He started reading it in parts. “All six stones are full of immense power…just one stone by itself can destroy whole worlds…the Soul Stone is the only stone that is known to be permanently hidden.” He flipped the book shut. “Thanos has two stones. One is hidden somewhere no one knows. And Earth has at least two.”

Loki looked up in surprise. He knew about his scepter, but there was another one on Earth? Well, this was news. “Where are they?” he asked.

“One of them is right here,” Strange said and he gestured his arms in a way to do a spell. The thick necklace that he was wearing opened up and revealed the incredible shine of the green Time Stone. Loki was stunned. Strange was nothing more than a parlor wizard compared to himself and yet here he was with an Infinity Stone dangling around his neck.

“How long have you had that?” he asked, still in disbelieve that a mere mortal had such a powerful object at his disposal.

“About a year, but the stone has been under the protection of many sorcerers throughout the years.”

Loki blinked. “Are you telling me that there was an Infinity Stone right here in New York the whole time?”

“Yes…I guess so, why-?”

“You mean to tell me,” he interrupted, getting annoyed. “That I had two stones in my procession and there was another one so close to my grasp? I could have had three!” Strange lifted an eyebrow at him and Bruce stared at him in disbelief. Loki looked at the pair of them realizing that he probably shouldn’t have voiced his frustration of being so close to being in control of three of the most powerful items in the entire universe. It made him appear like the terrible person they sort of already thought he was. “I mean, well, I guess it doesn’t really matter now does it.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Strange let out a deep breath. “Tell me again why I shouldn’t be so suspicious of you?”

Bruce sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Look, the God of Mischief here is a bit of a handful but I think we can trust him.” Strange opened his mouth to protest but Bruce was faster. “And even if we can’t trust him, there is a much bigger problem heading our way.”

Strange nodded with a new air of determination. “Then what is your plan, Dr. Banner?”

“We need to assemble the Avengers.”

Loki groaned, “Oh dear.”

“Oh dear, indeed,” Wong said. “The Avengers have split up.”

“What?” Bruce cried.

“Really?” Loki said, a bit too happily.

Bruce walked slowly to the couch that he had been sitting on not two minutes before. “Wow, you really miss a lot when you’re in space for two years.” He slumped onto the couch and rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers. Loki felt sorry for the poor man who couldn’t seem to catch a break and he also watched him very carefully to see if there was any hint of the beast within. After all the stress of today, he was surprised that Bruce wasn’t the Hulk right now tearing apart cars. Bruce sighed, “Okay, then we need to contact Tony Stark.”

“Easily done,” Strange said and then he was off to make some sort of location spell. Wong followed him. Loki and Bruce were alone and honestly it was a bit weird. They had never really talked or anything. Hell, Loki and Hulk never talked or anything.

“Do you think Valkyrie and the others survived?” Bruce asked.

“I’m sure they’re fine. Thor had a distress message sent out, so if they need help someone will show up. Besides, Valkyrie may be a pig headed lady, but she knows what she’s doing.”

Bruce nodded and seemed to worry less. And then he asked the question that Loki had been internally asking since he woke up, “Do you think Thor is alive?”

“Of course,” he lied. “Thor’s crafty, he has gotten himself out of worse situations.”

Bruce once again seemed less worried and went back to sitting in silence. Good, let him not have to dwell on what Loki was dwelling on. Part of him believed the words he had told Bruce, but a bigger and pessimistic part of him thought that his brother was gone. He tried to shake the dismal idea away but even when he could he still had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 _Damn him, for being so selfless. Should’ve saved himself, instead of me._

That was Thor, always trying to be the hero. Loki didn’t know which was worse though, being a hero for glory or being the selfless hero who died heroically at the end. At least the glory seeking hero would be alive at the end in theory. And he really didn’t want Thor to be dead.

It was funny really.

For what felt like a life time, he had wanted Thor to die, or at the very least be very unwell. And now-

Dr. Strange came back into the room, Wong once again close on his heels. “I found where Stark is.” Without waiting for a response, Strange twirled his arm around in a large circle and an orange, sparkler like portal opened up. Strange didn’t hesitate in walking through it. Loki could hear Strange say, “Tony Stark, your assistance is needed.”

Both Loki and Bruce stepped closer to the portal. Loki paused in a place just away from the entrance of the portal, so he wouldn’t be seen. So did Bruce. That was odd. “What are you waiting for?” Loki asked him. “Shouldn’t you follow the annoying wizard man and help persuade your equaling annoying friend to help us out?”

“Yeah. Uh, I know, I um…It’s just been two years and I uh, I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, speaking from experience why don’t you just say, “Hey, I’m alive.” It’s very effective.”

“It’s not that easy, Loki.”

“Says you.” He got closer to portal to hear what was happening.

He heard Stark say, “And who exactly are you?”

Strange said, “Dr. Steven Strange and if I might say, every minute that we waste going through these formalities, the universe is put closer to complete destruction.”

“You seem a little tense magic man,” Stark said in a dry tone.

Strange sighed, “Look, we need your help. Are you coming or not?”

“And who’s we?”

Loki loved making big dramatic entrances and after hearing that open-ended question beckoning him, he just knew he had to make one. “Well, for one, me.” He stepped through the portal and stood next to Strange. They were in a sunny park by a lake with plenty of people around. Strange sighed again at Loki’s entrance.

Tony Stark, who had always been so witty and annoying, stood with a light haired woman and his mouth fell open in shock. It was quite hilarious seeing the infamous Iron Man speechless.

“Loki,” Stark said in a horse whisper.

“Hello, Stark. It’s been a while hasn’t it?”

Stark suddenly broke out of his trance and took three quick steps towards Loki with a dangerous look in his eye. The light haired woman grabbed Stark’s arm and said, “Tony! Tony, what are you doing?”

Stark pointed at Loki. “You have approximately three seconds to tell me what the hell you are doing here before-”

“Before what?” Loki asked, unimpressed. “Before you make a sarcastic comment?”

“Okay,” Strange said, “You are really not helping.”

“Who said I came here to help?” Loki said with a smirk.

“Alright I’m out of patience. Pepper, please let go of me.” The light haired woman or Pepper, let go of Stark’s arm reluctantly but stayed close by his side. “Someone tell me what is happening right now.”

Loki huffed annoyed. “What is happening? Okay. A terrible monster named Thanos is coming to Earth to retrieve two Infinity Stones to destroy half the universe. I think that about does it. Any questions?”

Stark scowled at him. “Yes I have some questions. Why should I believe a word you say?”

“Because your friend will back me up.”

“I don’t care what Thor has to say about-”

“No, not my brother. Your _other_ friend.”

And as if on cue, Bruce came walking through the portal and came between Strange and Loki. Once again, Tony was speechless and shocked. It was Pepper who spoke, “Oh my God, Bruce.”

“Hey, Pepper.” Bruce swallowed. “Tony. I…I’m alive.”

Loki nodded his head in approval. Stark eyed his old friend as if he was only an illusion that could disappear at any moment. “Yeah, I see that. Where have you, ah, where’ve you been all this time?”

“…Space.”

“Space?”

“Yeah. It was very weird.”

“Excuse me,” Loki interrupted, “I don’t mean to interrupt this lovely reunion, but there is a mad Titan on his way to kill half the population, so can we hurry this up?”

“Right,” Bruce nodded. “Pepper it was nice to see you again, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to steal Tony away for a while.”

Pepper sighed and shrugged weakly. “What else is new?”

Stark leaned closer to Bruce and whispered, “So you’re working with the magic man and Reindeer Games, then?”

Loki rolled his eyes at the nickname that he had long ago forgotten. When he had fought Captain Rogers in Germany five years ago, Stark came flying in and blasted him with his repulsor beams. _“Make you move, Reindeer Games.”_ It was a knock against his horned helmet that looked like reindeer antlers to him apparently. Technically, the helmet was based off of cow’s horns, and if Loki really thought about it, that was much worse.

“Yes,” Bruce said without hesitation.

Stark stared at his friend for a minute before giving in with a sigh. “Alright then. I trust your judgment Bruce. But that doesn’t mean I trust _him_.” He glared into Loki’s eyes and Loki didn’t even flinch.

“Oh, believe me no one trusts him,” Strange muttered from where he was standing off to the side. “Now, shall we?”

…

“When the universe was formed into existence there were six powerful groups of energy that remained in the aftermath. These six energies were formed into stones.” As Wong continued educating Stark with magical projections of the stones, Loki sat on the steps of the ruined staircase feeling both bored and anxious. They needed to be making a plan, not giving Stark a lecture on how the Infinity Stones came to be. But nobody ever listened to him. “The Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Mind, and Time Stones. With just one of these stones a person could be unstoppable, but if someone were to gain all six…” Wong trailed off, lost in his own thoughts of what this meant for the universe.

Stark sat up straight in the chair he was sitting in. “And this guy wants them all? Tell me his name again.”

“Thanos,” Bruce said as he paced jittery around the room. “He already has the Power and the Space Stone, Tony and it won’t be long till he comes here. He’s a destroyer of worlds. The attack in New York, that was all him.”

Stark’s eyes shown with realization and he jumped from his chair. He walked around until he was in front of the staircase. “So, you used to work for this Thanos guy, then?” Loki ignored the question at first. “And to think all this time I thought you were some evil mastermind, but no, Reindeer Games is just a puppet.”

And that’s when Loki answered. “I am nobody’s puppet,” he spat. “And I did not work for him. What he wanted was mad. He wanted the scepter and the Tesseract to carry out his plan and there was no way I was ever going to give them to him.”

Stark chuckled humorlessly, “You expect me to believe that?”

“No. I expect for you to believe that I’m an evil person.”

Stark shrugged. “That’s certainly _easier_ to believe.”

Loki would never admit it, but that stung.

Strange cleared his throat after no one said anything for a while. “We have to protect the stones on Earth.”

Stark glanced over at the Doctor. “We have to get reinforcements together.”

Loki rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples, feeling the start of a headache. “Well no shit, Sherlock. You two are both excellent at pointing out the painfully obvious.”

Stark and Strange both glared at the trickster and Stark asked, “And how do you know who Sherlock Holmes is?”

“Just because I dislike you Midguardians, does not mean that I can’t read and enjoy your literature.”

“Focus guys. Come on,” Bruce said. “Dr. Strange has the Time Stone and Vision has the Mind Stone. Where is Vision?”

“What is a Vision?” Loki asked.

“He’s an android that Tony and I sort of helped make two years ago.”

“…So you made a robot with the stone from my scepter?”

“ _Android_ ,” Stark snapped. “Are you hard of hearing, Reindeer Games? And to answer Bruce’s question, I kinda lost Vision two weeks ago.”

“You what?”

“Well, ever since the Avengers broke up a lot of the old team has been, how do I put this, wanted by the government. And I’m pretty sure that Vision and Wanda, you remember Wanda right?” Bruce shook his head yes. “Well, I’m pretty sure they’re an item and that Vision left to stay with her.”

“How do we find him?”

“Cap would know how.”

Strange and Wong both groaned. “Great and Steve Rogers is public enemy number one,” Strange muttered.

Loki was confused by that. What could the dear Captain have possibly done to be hunted by his own government? That question would go unanswered for the time being because then Stark continued, “He told me if I needed help, that I could call him, but we’re not really on speaking terms.”

Bruce walked up to Stark and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Tony, right now it doesn’t matter who you’re talking to. All that matters is protecting the stones and if Steve can find Vision, then we need to call him.”

Stark nodded solemnly and pulled an old flip phone out of his pocket. He opened it and stared at it for a while. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. And after fifty seconds of just standing there he still hadn’t called Rogers.

Loki sighed annoyed. “Oh, stars above.” He twisted his hand and the cell phone disappeared from Stark’s grasp and appeared in Loki’s hand. He glanced over the phone; there was one number in the phone, so he selected that one and pressed call. He held it to his ear and it began to ring.

Stark turned around surprised. “What did-why do-?”

“I’m saving time and unlike you, I have no qualms about calling Captain America.” It rang two more times and then went to voicemail. “That’s unfortunate, it went to voicemail.”

“Give me the phone.” And Stark yanked the phone from his hand.

“Rude,” Loki muttered.

Stark let out another deep breath and left his message: “Hey, Steve it’s me, Tony. I just wanted to let you know that there might be some people after the stone in Vision’s head, so if you know where he is, just help him out alright. When you find him, meet me at Avengers headquarters. I’ll explain everything there. Kay, bye.” Stark flipped the phone shut and sighed again.

“I think you were making this far too hard,” Loki commented. “It was _just_ a phone call, for star’s sake.”

“Oh will you shut up. Don’t talk to me about how hard that was, when this is about something you know nothing about.” Loki had evidently struck a nerve. “Where is Thor anyways? Why are you here instead of him?”

_Why indeed._

Loki blinked a few times. “My brother in all of his vast wisdom, thought that saving me was more important than saving himself. How about this Stark, if he is still alive we both ask him why he made such a poor decision.”

Stark opened his mouth but then stopped. He heard something or sensed something. Loki listened too. The wind had picked up and there was a distant noise of people…yelling? Everyone in the room stood still and glanced to the main door. Outside there were groups of people running past in a panic. Loki stood up, Stark reached the door, and everyone left the safety of the sanctuary for the havoc of the streets.

Everything was in a frenzy: people hurrying to get away, cars speeding along the road, and every person who passed Loki looked fearful.

_This was bad._

Stark put on a pair of glasses that glowed around the edges, no doubt another of his inventions. He was trying to figure out what was going on when a car crashed into a light post not two feet away from him. Bruce and Wong stayed behind to help any injured person in the car and Loki, Strange, and Stark all walked around the corner. Hovering about twenty feet above the street was an enormous ringed shaped space craft, its engine humming and blowing the dust in the street everywhere.

“Oh dear,” Loki whispered.

“You know this ship?” Strange asked, suddenly next to him.

“Yes, it’s one of the pod ships from Thanos’s ship. If the ship is here, then some of Thanos’s children will be here for your stone.”

“Hey doc,” Stark said to Strange. “How ‘bout you put the green glowing gem in your back pocket?”

Strange instead opened his necklace, did a few hand motions, and conjured green rings around his wrists. “We might have to use it.”

“Indeed,” Loki agreed as he transformed his suit to his traditional black and green leather outfit and pulled out his dagger.

The dust settled as they continued to cautiously make their way down the street. Standing in the middle of the road was the slender and nose-less Ebony Maw and the giant axe wielding Cull Obsidian. Both were dressed in dark dismal clothes and both were impressive foes. Maw was a powerful and gifted telekinetic and Obsidian was basically an evil Hulk.

Maw smiled cruelly when he saw the three of them approaching. “Glorious day! Today is the day you give up your meaningless lives to the merciful Thanos and-”

“I’m sorry Earth is closed today,” Stark quipped. “And unless you both want your asses kicked I suggest you don’t even try to take the stone.”

Loki had to smirk at the disgusted expression on Maw’s face. Bruce and Wong came running behind them and stood with them. Maw turned to Strange, “You, sorcerer, does this man speak for you?”

“Absolutely not. I speak for myself.” Strange lifted his hands straight up in the air, made small circles and then two orange shields formed around his hands. He took a fighter’s stance and said, “And I say go back to space.” Maw scowled and he and Obsidian slowly started walking towards them.

Wong followed Strange’s example and stepped forward. Bruce just watched on in amazement. Stark looked to Bruce, “You want to help out?”

“Oh! Right sorry. Not really, but when do I get what I want.” Bruce strained for several seconds and his neck turned green, but he didn’t change into the Hulk. Loki and Strange exchanged a worried glance. “Come on, come on.”

“Ah, Bruce what’s the problem?” Stark asked impatiently.

“I don’t know. Hulk and I kind of have a problem.”

“This is no time for a problem. There’s a problem,” Stark pointed at the two aliens who were getting closer. Bruce tried again, but to no prevail. Stark sighed, “Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards.”

Loki shook his head, “I’m not a wizard, I’m a master of the mystical arts.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, you’re a wizard. Bruce are you gonna Hulk out or not?”

Bruce shook his head in tired defeat. “I can’t.”

Loki muttered, “What a day. Our ship is attacked, my brother is an idiot, and now are best line of defense won’t come out. Anyone else feel like running away?” It was a joke meant to ease the tension, but both Stark and Strange glared at him again. “Stars, when one of you makes a smart ass comment its fine, but I make one and it warrants a death stare.”

Maw recognized Loki and said, “Ah, the youngest Odinson. Your death will wipe out the last of your family.” 

Loki froze. 

“What?”

“When you fled your ship, we killed your brother.” That horrible dread that Loki had had seemed to consume him till he felt like screaming. Maw smiled cruelly again. “Will you die a more honorable death, I wonder? You see, your brother he begged for his life.”

It was like the whole world was tipping over on its side and all Loki could see was red. “You’re a liar!” he shouted, taking several steps forward.

Maw chuckled; Loki wanted to slice open his throat. “I am many things, but a liar I am not.”

Loki’s hands balled into fists and he felt the bite of his fingernails drawing blood. “Alright, Reindeer Games, _please_ don’t do anything stupid.”

Stupid? He probably would, he wasn’t at all thinking straight. How could he? Thor was…Thor was… He couldn’t even bring himself to think it. Maw had to be lying. Right? But-no. Maw wasn’t a liar, none of Thanos’s children were. So…

Everything seemed to fade away for Loki. He didn’t care about protecting the stones, or about Bruce or Strange or Stark or Wong or about anyone else in the entire damn universe. Nothing mattered except for his rage.

He threw his dagger directly at Maw’s head and focused his magic on the dagger until it multiplied into ten daggers. Maw easily avoided them by using his own powers, but two of the silver bladed daggers stabbed Obsidian in the shoulder. The giant roared in pain and frustration and started charging at them.

“And you did something stupid,” Stark said, yanking Loki by the shoulder back behind him. He casually started walking towards the monster and said, “Okay, Friday let’s do this.” His Iron Man suit materialized around him, starting at his chest and spreading to the rest of his body until he was safe and sound in the suit. Four metal half circles deployed from the suit’s back and fired four repulsor beams at Obsidian and sent him flying backwards. Maw tossed him to the side to prevent him from crashing into him. The half circles folded into themselves and connected back to the suit.

“What was that?” Bruce asked, impressed.

“Nano tech, you like? It is pretty basic techno-”

Maw rose his hand up and Stark was flung into the air with a shout of surprise. Strange sent his orange shield flying at Maw and knocked him over. It was Maw’s turn to shout in surprise. Strange turned to Bruce. “Dr. Banner, since your green friend will not be joining us…” He created another portal and pushed Bruce in, sending him to a grassy park. He closed the portal and stood with Loki and Wong.

Maw got back to his feet looking more than a little pissed off. He told Obsidian, “Deal with the iron fellow.” Obsidian spotted Stark hovering in the air and leaped up after him. The two crashed to the ground a street or two over.

“Stark can handle him,” Wong said. “We’ll deal with this guy.”

“Three against one? Seems a bit unfair,” Strange mused.

Loki shook his head. “Don’t get cocky, wizard. He’s been doing this a lot longer than you have.”

Maw levitated forty or fifty discarded bricks from the broken buildings nearby. With a wave of the hand, he had shaved them down into sharp spikes. He pushed them forwards towards the three, but Strange was faster, opening a portal to catch them all before hitting anyone. Wong opened an identical portal and all of the spikes came flying out directly at Maw. Most of them never even reached Maw, but one grazed his forehead. He stumbled back, his hand reaching his forehead feeling his dark blood.

“You’ll pay for that.” He twisted his hand and Wong was thrown through a shop window. Maw then lifted his arms into the air and he surrounded himself with a vortex of flying debris. He smirked at Loki and Strange and began to run at them.

Loki glanced at Strange. “Together?”

Strange sighed and weakly nodded his head. “On my count…three, two, one, now!” Strange pushed his hands forward and a blast of crimson orange magic formed an enormous shield and Loki sent out a burst of his shimmering green magic as a reinforcement shield. Maw ran directly into and was immediately halted. He sent his debris flying but it all just bounced off of the shield. Loki and Strange’s combined power created a shield of magic that not even Ebony Maw could break through. Maw strained to push past their magic and Loki and Strange strained to keep it in place. “Well, this is difficult,” Strange muttered, as his hands began to shake.

“I told you not to get cocky.”

“I’m sorry, but you came to Earth to concur us. I think you’re the cocky one.”

“I was cocky about my ability to fight powerless mortals, not flat faced telekinetics.”

Maw pushed harder and yelled in anger. Perfect. They had Maw so focused on breaking their shield all they needed was some third party to come and get the drop on him-  
“Hey, Squidward!” Stark yelled as he flew over Loki and Strange’s heads, straight at Maw. His arms were straight out when he flew and his left arm caught Maw in the stomach, throwing him to the ground.

Loki flinched at the sound of metal making contact with Maw’s soft flesh. “Oh, that had to hurt.” Both Loki and Strange lowered their hands in mild exhaustion and their shield evaporated. “Nice to work with you, Doctor.”

“Same to you, but let’s not make a habit out of it.” Loki half smirked, in spite of himself but it soon faded. The realization that Thor was probably dead suddenly weighed heavily on him. Strange seemed to notice his change in demeanor. “Um, I’m sorry about your brother. He, ah, seemed like a good man.”

Loki glanced at the ground and didn’t know what to say. Apparently, he would have time to think about it later because suddenly Obsidian came out of nowhere and landed next to Strange and Loki. He roared as he grabbed Loki’s arm and tossed like a rag doll through the air.

“What the hell!” he shouted, as he flew high up away from Strange and Stark.

“Hang on!” Strange yelled, but then Obsidian kicked him down.

_Well this is lovely._

Stark and Strange were too occupied with fighting Obsidian again, that they probably won’t have a chance to save him. Not that he really needed saving, he had already survived one crash landing today, but at the same time he didn’t want to get knocked out for the third time. Teleporting was out of the question, he had drained himself significantly after forming that shield. The city streets seemed to be getting closer. Crash landing seemed like a big probability.

But then something hit his back and he was yanked upwards. “Whoa! What?” He was five feet above the ground, hovering.

_How…?_

“Hey! You alright?” cried a voice from above him.

Loki looked up: A man in a red and blue spandex uniform and mask with big white and black eyes and a spider printed on his chest was hanging onto a white rope (was that a web?) that was attached to a building and onto another rope that was attached to Loki.

The humans continued to impress him.

“You alright?” the masked man, who sounded more like a boy, asked again.

“Yeah, I-I will be.” He grabbed out his dagger and cut the rope, no it was definitely a web, that was connected to him and he dropped to the ground. He brushed himself off and his savior landed next to him. Oh yeah, he was a boy, he was far too short.

“You sure you’re okay? You came flying out of nowhere.”

“And who are you supposed to be?” Loki asked while catching his bearings.

“I’m your friendly neighborhood, Spider-Man,” he replied.

“Oh, of course. That explains everything. Thank you.”

“Have I seen you somewhere before?” Spider-“Man” asked. “Cause you like seem really familiar.”

“Are you a child?” Loki asked instead of answering the Spider’s question.

“What! No! I’m a man! An adult man!”

“Really, because you sound like an adolescent child.” The Spider seemed to be pouting and that just proved Loki’s point in his mind.

_Spider-Man? Spider-Boy is more like it._

Stark went flying across the skyline. “That’s Mr. Stark,” Spider-Boy said.

“You know him?”

“Of course, he gave me my suit and he’s my mentor.”

“Kid, don’t take offense, but I think you need a better mentor. Now, I need to go back and help the wizard doctor.”

“There’s a wizard doctor?” Spider-Boy exclaimed.

“Yes and you might be able to help out. Come on!” Loki took off running back to where he had left Strange. Spider-Boy swung by his webs from building to building, following Loki.

“Look, mister,” Spider-Boy called from above. “I’d love to help you out with this wizard doctor, but I should really help, Mr. Stark.”

“Stark can handle himself. He’s probably just fighting the giant dwarf.”

“There’s a giant dwarf?” Spider-Boy exclaimed.

Loki sighed and shouted, “Stop acting like everything is exciting and new!”

“Sorry, but wizards and dwarfs _are_ exciting and new to me!”

Loki was not going to survive this day without having a massive headache. He and the Spider-Boy rounded the corner where he had left Strange. Maw was up and had tied Strange up with a cord or wire or something and was strangling him. Loki flicked his hand and his green magic dissolved the wire. Strange fell to his knees in a coughing fit. Spider-Boy swung on his web and surprised Maw and even managed to kick him in the jaw. Loki ran over to Strange. “Doctor, are you alright?”

Strange rubbed his tender neck. “I’ve been better.” Loki offered him his hand, Strange reluctantly took it, and Loki pulled him back onto his feet. “Thanks.” Loki nodded. “Is he a friend of yours?” Strange asked pointing to Spider-Boy who was doing rather well at fighting against Maw.

“Not really. I think he’s a friend of Stark’s though.”

“Wonderful. Now I am tired of this alien’s continual harassment.”

“Then let’s finish this.”

Strange smirked slightly and ran to Maw. He conjured an orange sparkler wipe and caught Maw’s arm. Spider-Boy webbed his other arm. Maw growled, “You pitiful humans! Why can you not just lay back and lose!” He lifted a car and threw it at Spider-Boy who did an impressive backflip to avoid it. However there was a random teenage girl on the street who was in the path of the car.

“Spider-Boy! Get the girl!” Loki shouted, running to help Strange with the struggling Maw.

“It’s Spider- _Man_!” And with that he jumped through the air, past the car, scoped up the girl, and swung her to safety. “Hey, you alright?”

The blonde girl looked shaken up, but then her eyes widen. “Oh my God, you’re Spider-Man!”

“Yeah, um, yeah. That’s me.”

The girl got very excitable. “You are like my favorite super hero! I absolutely love you! I’m Samantha by the way and I can’t thank you enough for saving my life!”

Spider-Boy shrugged, “Well, you know it’s all part of the job-”

“For star’s sake!” Loki yelled. “Put her somewhere safe and get back here and help us!”

“Right! Sorry.” The Spider scoped the girl up again and swung her a couple blocks over, where she’d be safe. And just in time too.

Maw hollered, “Enough!” He rose both arms up and both Loki and Strange flew backwards and hit the ground hard.

Loki didn’t know how long he had been down, but his head was killing him again. He slowly sat up with a grimace and felt the side of his head with his fingers. It was wet with blood.

_Really not a good day for head injuries._

The wind picked up again and blew through Loki’s hair. He looked up and saw a triumph Maw, an unconscious Strange, and a squirming Spider-Boy all being beamed up by a blue light into the large pod ship. Once they were all inside, the ship’s engines fired up and it sped up into the atmosphere. Loki just sat there dazed. 

Had they failed?

Stark came flying by and stopped in front of him. His helmet opened up. “Loki, what happened?”

Loki muttered, “The good Doctor and a somewhat helpful Spider-Boy both got beamed up into the ship.”

Stark’s eyes widened. “Peter. Damn that kid.” He took a deep breath and said in a rush, “I’m going after them. Bruce and Wong are in a park and Bruce needs to get to the base. Reindeer Games, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’ve got to make sure that the others know about Thanos and what is happening.”

“You want me to assemble the remaining Avengers?” Loki asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, crazy I know.” His helmet closed and he flew up after the pod ship.

Loki stayed sitting there staring at the shrinking ship and Stark until they were both out of sight. There went the Time Stone as well as three of Earth’s mightiest heroes. He had to have faith that Stark and the Spider would save Strange and maybe, just maybe, prevent Thanos from gaining another stone.

But Loki had never been much of an optimistic person.

A portal opened and Bruce and Wong came through. “Loki! You okay?” Bruce questioned as he ran up to the trickster.

“I’ll live.” He got to his feet and stumbled only once. “Stark and the Doctor are on the ship.”

“Oh no,” Bruce whispered. “What do we do?”

Wong opened another portal leading to the sanctuary. “I must protect the sanctuary. Whatever you two do, I wish you both the best of luck.”

Loki nodded his thanks. Wong stepped into the portal and closed it behind him. Loki sighed and pressed his palm to his head to try and stop the bleeding. “Stark told me to get you to the Avengers’s base… I guess we should go there.”

Bruce nodded. “Yes. That’s right, Steve will be arriving with Vision. Let’s see if we can call a taxi or something.” Bruce headed off in a direction that would lead to a less abandoned street to hail a taxi cab. Loki tottered slowly behind and let out a deep breath for the millionth time today.

This was madness. He, Loki the God of Mischief, a person that the entire planet condemned as a terrorist and a sadist was going to help assemble a group of super heroes who would no doubt not trust a single word he said.

_What could possibly go wrong?_

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

_Author’s Note: I couldn’t resist the “No shit, Sherlock” line because I assume most of you know that Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) and Robert Dowling Jr. (Tony Stark) both played different versions of the famous consulting detective._

_P.S. To my friend Samantha, I put you in my story with Spider-Man, are you happy now?_


	3. Chapter Two: How to Assemble the Avengers without Really Trying

Bruce had hailed a taxi; an older model with peeling daisy yellow paint. Both Loki and Bruce climbed into the back and asked the driver to take them to the Avengers upstate facility. Their driver, a sixty or seventy something year old guy with white hair, glasses, and a feathered cap, thought that they were, as he said, “joshing him.” That was probably to be expected, after all Bruce looked like a disheveled, crazy person and Loki was dressed in a “weird” outfit, with a horrible cut from his left temple down to his ear. After reassuring him that they were for real, he pulled out his GPS and set off to leave the hectic and panicked city.

About twenty minutes out Bruce asked Loki, “You alright?”

“What? Yeah. I got my bloody head to finally stop bleeding. I would normally use my magic, but using too much of it in too short of a time can drain me significantly.” 

“That’s good to know, but I meant are you alright about Thor?”

Loki removed the green cloth that he had conjured up before getting into the taxi to use to apply pressure to the cut on the side of his head. It was soaked with red, as were his hands. It was amazing how much head wounds bled.

He was still processing what Ebony Maw had claimed. In his heart he was almost sure that Thor was gone, but admitting it out loud or accepting condolences would be like the final nail in the coffin. So as a way to keep himself from completely breaking down into a hopeless mess, he would simply do one of the things he did best. 

Lie.

“Ebony Maw is a torturer, killer, and sadist ten times over. It would not be a giant stretch that he would fabricate a story to try and emotionally manipulate me.”

“So…you think that he was lying about Thor being dead?”

“It’s a possibility.”

Bruce nodded in agreement, but didn’t seem to buy it. Perhaps Loki had lost his infamous silver tongue. Or maybe this time the truth was too overpowering to be covered up.  
It was at this point that the taxi driver piped in. “I have no idea what you two are jabbering about, but I have a question. Two actually. Maybe three.”

“What is it?” Loki said not holding back his annoyance.

“Don’t get snappy at me, boy,” the driver said looking at Loki through the rearview mirror. “So, my first question is are you two famous or something? Because I feel like I’ve seen you both on the news at one time or another. My second question is why do you fellows want to go to the Avengers facility? They usually like their privacy. And my third question is why does the name “Thor” seem so familiar? It’s an unusual name, but yet familiar, you know?”

Loki leaned his head against the back of the gray head rest and sighed, “I have a question, why didn’t we pick a cab with a less talkative driver?”

“That’s strike two, boy.”

Bruce rubbed his eyes and in an attempt to keep the peace, he answered the driver’s questions. “We’re not famous, not really. We need to go to the Avengers facility because the Avengers are needed to save the world from an incoming threat. And finally, a guy named Thor was… _is_ a member of the Avengers.”

“Of course,” the driver said smacking his forehead. “Thor, God of Thunder. My wife loves that guy. Always watching him on the internet. Quite the muscular fellow, ain’t he?”

Loki closed his eyes and muttered, “I’m going to try and drown this guy out. Wake me up when we get there.”

The driver looked to Bruce. “Your friend is very testy.”

“Well, he is the God of Mischief and to be fair, we’ve had a hell of a day.”

“Want to talk about “hella days”? Try being a taxi driver, you’ll get “hella days”. Although, I wasn’t always a taxi driver. Once I was a FedEx delivery man and another time I was barber for some hardcore fighters. Most recently I was a school bus driver.”

“Wow, you’ve gone through a lot of jobs,” Bruce said, sounding a lot more patient and nice, then if Loki had said anything on the matter.

The taxi driver laughed, “Yeah. People ask me all the time, why don’t I just retire? Well, I don’t know what I would do with myself if I retired so, here I am. And honestly it’s marvelous.”

Loki never in his life wanted to push someone out of moving car more than he did in that moment. He was not in the mood to listen to some elder go on and on about his lovely life. But instead of committing homicide, he went to his happy place:

Him and Thor as children, running through the golden field by the silver lake. Such a beautiful day it had been. Not a cloud in the sky and the emerald green leaves seemed to glitter in the light breeze.

He was calm. He was at peace. He was not going to yell at their driver or dwell on Thor’s fate or worry about the upcoming confrontation between him and the remaining Avengers. He was fine.

Obviously he wasn’t but he could pretend and hide his true feelings through his sarcastic comments. It always worked in the past.

…

Once they _finally_ reached the Avengers facility, Loki practically ran out of the taxi, leaving Bruce to handle the fee. If he had to hear one more time about how their driver had seen Spider-Man in action or about the time that he had been mistaken as a celebrity by Tony Stark himself, he was going to scream.

Standing in the grass, waiting for Bruce, he looked over the facility. It didn’t look like anything special: A couple story all white building with a lot of windows and a great big “A” painted on the side. He had expected something with a bit more flair or something. So far, Dr. Strange’s sanctuary was more impressive.

“Next time we take a cab all the way upstate,” Bruce said walking up to Loki. “You can pay the fee.”

“Do you think they will accept Asgardian currency?”

“Probably not.”

“Then you are left with the unfortunate burden of the fee.” The two made their way up the main driveway to two double glass doors. They entered with no problem, but Loki expected someone to come and check out who was intruding. If not then the Avengers had terrible security. And as it turned out, the Avengers had terrible security, they just walked through the place like they owned it, not coming across a single soul. “Well, this is odd,” he muttered.

Bruce nodded, glancing around every corner, as if he expected someone to jump out. “No hired security? Tony usually loves overprotection. It’s his major personality flaw.”

“Really? Won’t have been my first guess. Stark is so flawed, I didn’t think there would be just one that outranked all of the others.”

Bruce half-heartedly gave Loki a smoldering glare, but then quickly went back to concentrating on the matter at hand. “Maybe there are motion sensors that tripped a silent alarm.”

“Even if that were so, where are the troops or, dare I say, Avengers to come and see what’s-”

“Only one trooper today,” a voice said from behind them.

They both turned around. Loki had never seen this man before. He was an African American man, about Stark’s height, with large flaring nostrils and deep brown eyes. He had on a gray T-shirt and sweat pants, but on top of the pants were what appeared to be metal braces. But the thing that caught Loki’s attention was the confidence in the man’s voice when confronting them and his drawl gun.

The man seemed to recognize Bruce immediately and almost completely lowered his gun. “Oh my God, Bruce?”

Bruce smiled, happy to see another familiar face after so long. “Oh my God, Rhodey, it’s been a long time.”

Loki huffed impatiently, “ _Oh my God_ , please introduce me to your friend.”

“Oh, right. You two have never met have you?”

Rhodey glanced over at Loki, his eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to remember where he knew him from. And then it hit him. The gun was raised back up, although this time it was only pointed at Loki.

“You’re Loki,” Rhodey hissed. “You attacked New York with a bunch of aliens and tried to kill my friends.”

Loki rose his hands up in surrender and took a step backwards. “We’re off to a wonderful start.”

“Rhodey, Rhodey, hey!” Bruce said, stepping between the two of them. “Put the gun down. It’s okay.”

“What? Bruce he-”

“I know. _I know._ This sounds crazy, but he is here to help us with a much bigger problem that is coming. Just hear us out.”

Rhodey chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking, before saying, “Tell me the fast version of what’s happening and then I might put the gun down.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

_Here we go again. What will this be? The fourth time I have to explain what the hell is going on?_

“Well, first my brother was an idiot, big surprise, and then-”

Bruce waved his hand annoyed. “Shush!”

“Did you seriously just shush me?”

“The last thing we need is you pissing him off. I’ll tell him what’s happening.”

Loki silently brooded on that, but agreed anyways. “Fine. Go ahead.”

Bruce took a deep breath. “A powerful being named Thanos is after these things called Infinity Stones that will make it possible for him to wipe out half of the entire population. The gem in Vision’s head is one of these stones. We told Tony and he called Steve to find Vision. Tony went after an alien pod ship that has a man who has another stone and he told Loki to get me here and to make sure everyone knows what is happening.”

Rhodey lowered his gun.

“So, Tony is…?”

“In space? Yeah.”

“And Cap is what? Coming here once he finds Vision?”

“Your friend catches on fast,” Loki mussed.

Rhodey shook his head, suddenly appearing tired. “What a day. First the council meeting, now this…”

“Council meeting?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah. Because of the Accords there is a monthly mandatory meeting with all of the heads of security…Oh, wait, you wouldn’t know anything about the Accords.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I’m sorry,” Loki interrupted, “but can I put my hands down and can we prepare for the dear Captain’s arrival, when we have to explain everything once again.”

Rhodey holstered his gun. “You can put your hands down, but I’m going to keep an eye on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Loki crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“And yes, we should prepare for Steve and the other’s arrivals. But I got to get rid of the council and you two have to stay hidden. If the council saw either of you, there would be hell to pay.”

Loki glanced at Bruce, who glanced at him. “You don’t know what he’s talking about either, I assume.” Bruce shook his head no. “Good. It’s not just me.”

Rhodey motioned them to follow him. “You can wait in one of our meeting rooms. If there is time I can explain this whole Accords thing later.”

“Is knowing what they are a matter of life or death?” Bruce asked.

“Well, no.”

“Then forget about explaining them to me period.”

“Fair enough, although you _have_ to explain to me later how you ended up working with him.”

Loki smirked. “It’s an amusing little story. But let’s go to this meeting room first.” The three of them went through the corridors that Loki and Bruce had already gone through, but this time they took a left that lead to an atrium with glass ceilings and a lot of light. They then went up a flight of stairs. That’s when Rhodey had to slow down, no doubt because of the brace things.

“You alright?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah. I was in an accident that kinda paralyzed me, but Tony came up with these things.” He knocked on the side of the metal brace. “I can get around pretty good, but stairs are still the enemy.”

Bruce shook his head sadly, the same way he had at Strange’s sanctuary. “You really do miss a lot in two years.”

They finished their climb up the clear stairs and went to a room with large windows and a black glossy table surrounded by plastic chairs. There was a cappuccino machine in the corner. The walls were a bright white, like a doctor’s office. Loki looked around unimpressed. “So, did your interior decorator say that they wanted to make the whole place look modern and boring and did you all agree with their poor style?”

Rhodey ignored him and instead spoke to Bruce. “I’ll be over in the next room trying to get rid of the council.” He pulled what look like a very slender and clear cellphone from his pocket. He pressed a blue button and pulled up several holographs of security camera footage. He set the “phone” on the table. “You’ll be able to see when Cap and the others get here.”

“Thanks Rhodey,” Bruce said with a nod.

Rhodey smiled at Bruce and patted his shoulder. He turned to leave and sent an icy stare Loki’s direction. After he left, Loki sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs and put his feet up on the table, making himself at home. “You do realize, I still don’t know who that guy was.”

Bruce sat down by the holographs and went about looking through the different camera angles. “His name is Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes or “Rhodey” or “War Machine”. He’s best friends with Tony.”

“What makes him so special to be part of the super hero team?”

“He has a suit like Tony’s.”

“So, he’s a knockoff of Iron Man?”

“No, he has a big gun on his shoulder and his suit is gray and silver.” Loki gave Bruce an unconvinced look. “Yeah, okay. He’s sort of a knockoff, but not really. It would probably be better if you didn’t have your feet up on the table when the others come. You know, semi-first impressions.”

“Bruce, the second they see me they’re going to be like everyone else we’ve met today. “Gasp! It’s Loki! He’s bad! Let’s run away or threaten his life.” Sound about right?”

Bruce frowned while continuing to look through the camera angles, picking out the best ones to have up while they waited. “To be fair, none of them really have a reason to trust you.”

Loki glanced down at his stained hands and sat up right with his feet on the floor. “Do you trust me?”

Bruce paused. It was a question that Loki had mildly wondered about since the man seemed to be constantly vouching for him ever since they had made it back to Earth. And for some reason he truly cared what Bruce’s answer was. It wasn’t so much that he wanted Bruce Banner to trust him, it was that he desperately wanted _somebody_ to trust him. Even if only partially. Like Thor did.

“You helped rescue the people on Asgard, you didn’t betray us to Hela, and you want to help fight Thanos. Yeah, I trust you. For the most part.”

Loki sat back and nodded, contemplating. _“For the most part.”_ That was enough.

…

When you are the God of Mischief and your mind is constantly calculating your next move or next trick, waiting is an utter agony. Loki had sat at the table, paced around the room, checked out the cappuccino machine, stared out the window, tried washing his blood stained hands, and glanced over the security footage all within twenty minutes. He was in the middle of pacing again, his hands, now looking less stained, clasped behind his back and his mind focused on the inevitable meeting with the remaining Avengers. Bruce seemed content with sitting in one place watching the holographs.

_Well good for him!_

“You know, I never realized how antsy you are,” Bruce said.

“I’m not antsy, just anxious. Sometimes waiting is easy when I know the outcome of things. But this is ridiculous. How long since your friend, Road, or whatever left to get rid of this Accords council?”

“It’s _Rhodey_ , and about twenty-three minutes ago.”

Loki groaned and took his seat again. “Stars above, this is the longest day of my life.”

Bruce half chuckled, “Really? Out of your entire life? Aren’t you like a thousand or something years old?”

“I’m thirteen hundred and twenty-five years old…and seven months.”

Bruce let out an impressed whistle. “Jesus, man. You Asgardians do live, like, forever.”

“Not forever. Hardly forever. And I’m not an Asgardian.”

Loki was silent after that, lost in his own thoughts of impatience and memories of the past. 

Bruce pulled up the camera footage of Rhodey still talking with the heads of security. He had recognized General Ross right away, the man who had tirelessly tried to capture him and use the Hulk as a weapon. How the hell had he been put in this position of power? Perhaps these Accord things explained it. Or maybe not. Perhaps these Accords were the reason for the Avengers breaking up like a band.

A small red light flashed in the corner of the holographs, alerting them that someone was there. Bruce flipped back to the main entrance cameras and saw the team. “Loki, they’re here.”

“Joy to the blessed world, it took them long enough.” Loki stood up again and watched over Bruce’s shoulder. Captain Steve Rogers was the first person he saw. “Bloody hell, what happened to him?” He looked awful. The clean shaven, blonde haired, Boy Scout was replaced by this dark and gritty and _bearded_ man.

Bruce sputtered, “I, um, I have no…” He shook his head in equal surprise. Then came Natasha Romanoff, still looking as sleek in black leather as ever, but her fiery red hair was now platinum blonde. “Nat,” Bruce said in a soft whisper.

Loki heard the softness and the slight passion in that one word and it surprised him even more than a bearded Captain America. “Wait…you and the scary assassin lady are a…couple?”

Bruce opened his mouth in shock. “Ahh, um, I uh, yeah. Sort of?”

“Huh, I must admit, I honestly did not see that one coming.”

The rest of group came in and Loki had never seen a single one of them before. There was another African American man with what looked like a jet pack on, a fair haired woman who wore too many rings and had too much eyeliner on, and a red man in a gray uniform and a yellow cape. He assumed that the latter was this “Vision” person because in the middle of his red forehead was the golden Mind Stone. Vision appeared to be injured and the two Loki had no idea who they were, were supporting Vision and helping him to walk.  
They were all heading for the room that Rhodey was still in trying to get rid of those pesky holograph council members. Well, they were still there when Captain Rogers and company came in. Ross ordered their arrest. “Hey, stay here,” Bruce said, getting up.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to listen in.”

“We have access to camera footage and audio, we _are_ listening in.”

Bruce ignored him and left the meeting room, shutting the door behind him. He wanted to make sure everything was okay. And also he wanted to give the team a little heads up about Loki so they wouldn’t be as surprised as everyone else they had come in contact with today. He snuck in through the second door that lead to the room that everyone was in and heard Rhodey disconnect the call with the council and then all their holographs disappeared.

He listened as Rhodey reunited with the team that he had apparently not seen in a while. “You guys look terrible, but I’m so glad to see you.”

Steve was the first to speak and he sounded like a soldier who had been beaten down with time, “It’s good to see you too, Rhodey.” Steve and Rhodey shook hands and patted each other on the backs. “I wish it was under better circumstances. Tony was right, two highly trained aliens tried to take the stone from Vision.”

“But we were there so, it all worked out,” said a voice that Bruce knew belonged to Sam Wilson.

“Where is Tony?” Steve asked. “He said he’d meet us here.”

Rhodey shook his head. “Tony isn’t here.”

“But I am,” Bruce said walking out from his hiding place into the center of the room. He assumed that everyone looked shocked at his sudden appearance, but he focused all of his attention on Natasha. Her hair was different but it didn’t matter because she was still her, beautiful and deadly. Her eyes showed him all the emotions going through her: confusion, then surprise, and finally a glimmer of happiness.

“Hey, Bruce,” she said causally as if they hadn’t been apart for two years.

He smiled at her, enjoying this tiny moment of calmness, as it would be the only one they would have for a while. And then Sam shattered the moment. “Well, this is awkward,” he whispered to Vision and Wanda Maximoff.

Bruce chuckled, “I didn’t mean to make it awkward. Or to be all dramatic like with my entrance.”

Steve stepped forward and patted him on the back. “I’m glad you’re back, Bruce.”

“Yeah, me too. But, ah, I’m afraid the reunion will have to wait till later.”

“Yes,” Wanda agreed in her thick accent of hers. “Vis is hurt and I want to know who those people were who did this.”

“And I believe, Dr. Banner said that Tony isn’t here,” Vision said from her side.

Bruce nodded. “That’s true. Tony had other things to take care of, but he instructed us to assemble the remaining team.”

“Us?” Sam asked. “Meaning you and Rhodey?”

“No, meaning me and…and…” The group looked expectedly at Bruce, except Rhodey who just crossed his arms. Bruce swallowed and tried again. “Look, whatever you do, any of you, please don’t overreact.” He walked out of the room, Rhodey motioning for them to follow. Steve and Natasha gave each other a, this seems odd, look and followed. Wanda and Sam continued to help Vision.

When they all entered the meeting room that was right next to the room that they had just been in, they all saw Loki in his traditional green and black outfit with a scaring head wound, sitting at the big table fiddling with the holographs of camera footage. He looked up and smirked. “Surprise,” he said in a sing-song fashion.

“ _You_ ,” Natasha said in disbelief.

“ _Me_.” Loki closed down the holographs and eyed Natasha and Steve with amusement. “I know. It’s been a while.”

“Loki,” Steve said as if to convince himself that the trickster was in fact there.

Loki was enjoying seeing the two heroes who he had such an interesting history with act in such surprise. The three newbies stood near the door way and even they looked surprised. It wasn’t as amusing to see their reactions as it was with the dear Captain and (what did she go by?) Black Spider. No, Black _Widow_ , that was it. The man with the jet back shook his head and said, “Wait, hold up. Loki, as in the attack in New York Loki?”

“The very same,” Loki said calmly.

“Well…crap. Cap…?”

Steve, who had never taken his eyes off of Loki, asked Bruce, “Tony wanted you and Loki to get us together?”

Loki was faster than Bruce. “He didn’t really _want_ me to be involved, but under these dire circumstances, he was able to put aside the past for a while.”

Natasha scoffed, “Tony is nice guy, but he has made some terrible decisions in the past few years. I don’t trust his judgment anymore. And how do we know that you,” she pointed at Loki, “haven’t brainwashed Bruce or Tony or anyone else?”

Loki sighed with irritation. “Well, let’s see, first the only time I did that was five years ago and it wasn’t with my powers, it was with the scepter’s power. And I can’t really brainwash anyone with the scepter since the stone that powered it is currently in your Vision’s head over there.”

“Yeah and Nat,” Bruce started, pulling Natasha’s attention away from Loki. “I’m pretty sure that _you_ would be able to tell if I was under some sort of mind control magic.”  
It was silent for a minute or so, while Natasha thought over what Bruce had said. Loki sighed again, waiting impatiently for them to move past the whole “should we trust Loki or not” portion of the meeting and get down to important business. Natasha finally decided that she knew Bruce well enough to know if something was wrong with his mind and she decided that nothing was currently wrong with his mind. Well, maybe there was something wrong with Bruce’s mind, after all he was working with a former dangerous criminal.

“Fine,” Natasha said. “Bruce, I believe you are under no spell or anything weird like that and I trust you to relay Tony’s message, but I don’t have to trust-”

“Me?” Loki said. “Yes, I know. Nobody trusts me. This is not the first time we’ve done this today. Can we please just move on?”

Bruce nodded and sat down at the table. Everyone reluctantly came further into the room. Steve stood by the window behind where Loki sat, probably to have a vantage point in case he became a “threat”, Natasha sat close to Bruce, Rhodey went off to the cappuccino machine to get some much needed caffeine, the man with the jet pack went with Rhodey, Vision stood near the head of the table holding his side and told the girl who was helping him, “Wanda”, that he was okay, and Wanda slowly left his side to sit on the same side of the table as Loki, but far away.

When this Wanda girl walked by Loki, giving him an icy glare of course, he could have sworn that her brown eyes had flashed a blood red hue for a split second. Very few things made him do double takes, but that did. He found himself staring at her with mild curiosity when she sat down. She glanced at him and her expression showed her dislike for him looking at her.

“What?” she snapped, in an accent that Loki had no clue where it was from.

“Nothing. Your eyes did a color change a minute ago.”

“Well, they do that sometimes.”

“I noticed.”

“ _Obviously_.”

She had fire in her, he had to give her that. “You’ve got spunk,” he said with a smirk. Wanda didn’t drop her glare at him, but she nervously fidgeted with the multiple rings on her fingers. He had once been told that he could make people uncomfortable with his long gazes and mischievous smirks. He had never taken that too seriously, Thor probably had said it, but now he knew how true a statement it was.

“Hey,” the man with the jet pact said stepping up beside Wanda, as if to protect her. “Why don’t you stop being a creeper and quit staring.”

Loki chuckled at that. “Why, you’re an annoying one. Is that the qualification for joining the Avengers? Must be super human, with the fabled moral high ground and an irritating personality.”

“The name’s Sam Wilson.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“And I suggest that you shut up before I make you.”

Loki playfully rose his hands up in surrender and then crossed his arms and turned to Bruce. “Anytime you’re ready.”

Bruce frowned. “Yeah, anytime you want to stop causing scenes.”

Loki bit his tongue. He totally could’ve pointed out that he was just curious about the girl’s eyes and that this Sam Wilson started it, but they did have more important things to do, so…

Bruce started from the beginning: “This whole time that I was gone I was the Hulk and on an alien plant. Thor found me and I was able to change back to, well, me. He and Loki had some issues with their sister and-”

“Wait, Thor has a sister?” Rhodey asked.

“Well, he did, but she kind of wanted to destroy everything, so Thor, Loki, myself and some others fought against her and saved the Asgardians-”

“You went to Asgard?” Sam asked impressed.

“Yes.”

“What was it like?” Sam asked, sitting next to Wanda.

“Well, it was big, golden, on fire…” Sam looked confused. “Like I said, Thor’s sister wanted to destroy _everything_."

“But you digress,” Loki added.

“Yes. I digress, we were successful in saving everyone just before Asgard blew up.”

“It blew up?” Rhodey asked.

Loki rolled his eyes. This was going to take forever. “Q and A after Bruce’s story, got it?” He nodded for Bruce to continue.

“Well, anyways, everything was going okay after that. We were in a space ship heading for Earth, when another ship came and attacked us.” Bruce took a deep breath. “The captain of that ship is a being named Thanos and he wants to wipe out half of the universe.”

Captain Rogers ignored Loki’s command that nobody ask another question till the end of the story. “How does he plan to go about this?”

Bruce eyed Loki.

_Guess that means I’m up._

“Thanos wishes to harness the power from the six Infinity Stones. They are stones of unmatchable power. You’ve come in contact with some of them in the last few years.”

“The Tesseract,” Natasha said in realization.

“Yup. As well as the gem in your Vision’s head. Thanos already has two stones, no doubt he will be searching the cosmos for the other two, and two were on Earth.”

“ _“Were”_. Past tense,” Vision mumbled, looking like he was having trouble standing. “I assume that those two that attacked me were not the only ones to disrupt people’s lives.” Loki had to admit that he had never seen anything like Vision before. He was as Stark had said an android, made completely out of synesthetic materials and yet he was no soulless robot. Was it because of Stark and Bruce’s revolutionary craftsmanship or because of the Mind Stone?

Bruce spoke up. “Thor managed to send Loki and I away from the ship and we landed in New York. We met a wizard named Dr. Strange, who was in possession of one of these stones. We contacted Tony, told him everything, and had him call Steve. Then two aliens came and they took Strange with his stone. Tony went after him.”

Vision stumbled around the table and asked Loki, “With all the stones, he can do it can’t he? Wipe out half the universe?”

Loki nodded, suddenly feeling the weight of the situation in his chest. “He can do it with a snap of his fingers and then boom. It certainly is much more effective than his previous plan of going planet by planet, killing half of its population.”

Rhodey stepped forward to the table. “You seem to know a lot about this Thanos guy.”

Loki glanced down at the surface of the table; it was so glossy he could see his reflection. His cut either needed stitches or his magic. He quietly said, “He gave me the scepter and the army that I used to attack New York.”

Sam and Wanda gave each other a look of surprise, Natasha’s eyes widened in anger, Rhodey exclaimed, “What?” Bruce glanced around at his team worriedly. What the dear Captain and Vision’s reactions were, Loki didn’t know because they were behind him.

“So, hang on!” Sam said shaking his hands in the air. “You were working for the guy who is now trying to kill us?”

Loki huffed, “Why does everyone think that? _No_ , I wasn’t working for him. He gave me what I wanted and he wanted the scepter and the Tesseract in return, but I was never going to give them to him.”

Natasha chuckled humorlessly, similarly to the way Stark had at Strange’s sanctuary. “Why? Because you’re such a good person?”

Loki was getting fed up with this. “Did you not just hear what Thanos wants to do? Half of the entire universe, just gone. I may be morally ambiguous, but that is insanity.”

“Morally ambiguous?” Rhodey said. “Try murderer.”

Loki glared at the man and said through gritted teeth, “The point is, the past doesn’t matter right now.” Rhodey shook his head unconvinced. “We have to have a plan for when Thanos or his children arrive for your Vision’s stone.”

“ _“We”_? There is no we,” Wanda said. “As far as I am concerned, you’re just as bad as Thanos.”

Loki tried very hard to not snap, but he wasn’t a hundred percent sure that he was successful. “Please, don’t insult me. You and I just met, but I can assure you I am nothing like that monster.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever delusions you tell yourself,” Natasha mussed. “But so far, we have the threat of a man who we’ve never met and you, the evil mastermind who tried to kill his own brother. So far, I think you’re worse.”

Loki stood up so fast that the plastic chair slammed to the ground. The second he had stood in such aggression, everyone was standing up. Rhodey, Sam, and Natasha all pulled out guns and Wanda took a fighter’s stance. No one was taking any chances. Bruce stood with his hands out. “Hey, hey! Whoa! Everyone calm down!”

“The God started it!” Sam said, keeping both of his handheld guns trained on Loki.

Not that the trickster even noticed everyone’s scared looks. All that he could see through his suddenly red vision was Natasha. He was so mad he thought he might start shaking. “Now you listen to me,” he said in a dangerous, low tone. “I don’t care what you think of me. Any of you. But you must cease the constant attempts at trying to prove that I’m not trustful in this situation. Because despite what you believe, I have no allegiance to Thanos and I did care about Thor dearly, even though he’s an idiot. And if you are to believe Thanos’s children, then Thor is dead by Thanos’s hands.”

After hearing that, everyone shared glances with each other. Steve finally said something for the first time in a while and he only said one word, “Bruce?” He wanted confirmation from a _trustful_ individual. Bruce sadly nodded. The air in the room shifted from intense tension to a solemn mood. Thor had been one of the first Avengers and a friend to the others, but it was worse for Loki. 

He had said it out loud. 

Now it was true. 

He could feel the tears in the back of his eyes, desperately wanting to form but he pushed them back and continued on. “I want to stop Thanos just as much as you all do. Maybe more. I am willing to help, only if you allow me.”

Natasha’s eyes looked him over, searching for a crack in his story. Looking for a hint of a lie so she could prove him a fraud and not have to contemplate about the possibility that he could be trustful. And when she couldn’t find any, she remembered what Loki had done to Clint. She shook her head. “I can’t speak for everyone else, but I _can’t_ trust you.”

Loki leaned forward, placing his hands on the edge of the table. “Then don’t trust me, trust my rage.”

That seemed to strike the group. Wanda was the first to lower her hands and stand more naturally, no longer ready to fight. Rhodey and Sam shared a glance and lowered their guns slightly. Bruce looked at Loki sympathetically. Loki really wished that he would keep his sympathies to himself. When Natasha still hadn’t lowered her gun, Steve walked around from behind Loki and up to her and Bruce. “Nat?” he asked. She glanced at him, he raised his eyebrows expectedly, she sighed.

“Fine.” She lowered the gun completely and even holstered it. Her eyes were steal when she turned to Loki and said, “We’ll work with you. But you should know that I’m not going to put forth the same effort to help you as I would any of my other teammates.”

“Meaning?” Loki asked, still fuming from the emotional rollercoaster that this conference had been.

“Meaning if this turns into a fight and you’re in trouble, if you’re about to die, I will not try and save you as I would anybody else. I would sooner let you die.”

Loki was silent for a split second before half smiling. “Hmm…There was a reason why I liked you, Agent Romanoff.” And just like that, he did what he did best. Push his hurt back by being sarcastic. “Except I don’t like your current hair style. You look much better as a red-head. The blonde clashes too much with your pale complexion.”

Natasha shook her head in disbelief. “Fashion advice from the crazy guy.”

“I’m hardly crazy.”

Sam scoffed, “Personally, I think the jury’s still out.”

Bruce sighed and wiped his forehead, looking massively stressed out, but there was no hint of green. “Okay, now that we got that all settled, we do need to have a plan for when Thanos comes. We need all hands on deck. Where’s Clint?”

“Yes, whatever did happen to Clint Barton?” Loki asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Natasha said in an even tone.

“Yes, that’s why I asked.”

She ignored him and told Bruce, “After the Accords, he and Scott made a deal with the feds so they didn’t have to be separated from their families.”

“Who’s Scott?” Bruce asked.

“Ant-Man,” Sam replied, sitting back down.

Bruce blinked. “There’s a Spider-Man and an Ant-Man?”

His question would remain unanswered as Vision stepped away from the window he had been staring out of for a spell. “I think I have a solution.” Everyone watched the android slowly walk closer to Wanda. “I’ve thought it over and I have come to the conclusion that Thanos cannot prevail without all of the stones. So we simply destroy my stone.” Vision’s fingers reached for the gem in his forehead and he felt the smooth edges.

Loki once again was impressed by the android’s intelligence and warmness. But he shook his head at Vision’s suggestion. “It won’t work. Thor once tried to destroy a stone with the full power of his lightning and it did nothing.”

Vision calmly stated, “The only way to cut a diamond is with another diamond. Perhaps the only way to destroy the stone is with another stone.” He turned to Wanda. “Or at the very least with powers similar to the stone.” Wanda shook her head, suddenly looking afraid. “Wanda, you gained your powers from the stone, you’re the only one who could potentially destroy it.”

_If you destroy the stone, would that destroy the Vision as well?_

Apparently everyone thought so. Wanda grew angry. “And what would happen to you? Vis, I’m not doing it.”

Steve agreed, “We don’t trade lives, Vision. We can’t ask you to do this.”

Vision faced Steve. “Captain Rogers, you were willing to give up your life for thousands of innocent people seventy years ago. This is not different.”

“Yes it is. I didn’t have a choice, you do.”

Bruce nodded. “Exactly. Vision, you are made up of so many complex systems, Tony, me, J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, the stone. If we could find a way of removing the stone without disrupting these other systems, maybe-”

“He would be okay?” Wanda asked, hope filling her eyes.

Bruce nodded, but then added, “I think so. I would need to go to a lab with much more advanced technology.”

Steve smiled slightly. “I know where we have to go. We have to go to Wakanda, it has the tech that Bruce needs and quite possibly the manpower needed to fight Thanos.”

Loki thought over their plan: go to some place called Wakanda to pick up fighters and technology to get the gem out of Vision’s head so they could destroy it so Thanos couldn’t use his gauntlet and snap his fingers and wipe out half the universe. Loki sighed. He had heard worst plans in his lifetime.

“So, this is the plan then?” he asked. “Get the stone out, destroy it, and worry about all the damage Thanos can do with the other five stones later?” Steve nodded with no sense of fear whatsoever. He truly was the ultimate soldier. Loki sighed again and rubbed his aching head. “In that case, let’s make sure that your Vision doesn’t die before getting to this Wakanda place.”

Loki closed his eyes. He twisted his hand and a slight green glow grew around it. Vision looked down at his left side in surprise as the same glow formed around his injury. He saw just in time that the deep, poorly mended wound closed up good as new. Vision felt his side and stood straight with new found strength. Loki just about fell against the table with a slight groan.

“Hey, you okay?” Bruce asked worriedly.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Loki said breathlessly, feeling very exhausted. “It’s like what I said in the taxi. I use too much of my powers and I drain myself, hence why I still have the head wound, but I figured he,” Loki half-heartedly pointed to Vision, “should be completely free of any injuries.”

“Thank you,” Vision said with such genuine appreciation that it caught Loki off guard.

He turned to the android and met his green gray artificial eyes. “Yeah, sure. It’s fine.”

Vision felt his side again. “Remarkable. Feels as if it never even happened. Your powers must be very impressive to be able to completely regenerate materials that are not flesh and blood. Not even Wanda can do that perfectly.”

Loki shook his head. “Well, I’ve had a little practice. You’re not the first machine based person I’ve met.”

“Oh? Who else have you met?”

“One of Thanos’s step-daughters…Very feisty. Very, _very_ feisty.” Loki found himself lost in the forgotten past about his time on Thanos’s ship for a moment. The only enjoyment was talking with the feisty and yet vulnerable step-daughter who was mostly made of metal parts, and yet she still had flesh to cover up the machinery.

_When flesh meets machine you get a cyborg. But she always hated that term._

Rhodey cleared his throat. “We should head for Wakanda.”

Steve nodded and went about giving orders. “Rhodey pack a suit and get a plane ready. Sam go with him and send a message to T’Challa. Let him know we’re coming and what’s happening. Everyone be ready to go in five minutes. Let’s do this.”

Steve and Natasha left together, maybe to stock up on ammunition, Sam and Rhodey went off to do what the dear Captain ordered them to do, Vision thanked Loki again and left as well. Loki slowly walked towards the door. Boy, he had really outdone himself. He wasn’t going to be of much help if he could barely even walk.

“You sure you’re okay?” Bruce asked again.

“Yes. Besides, now the Vision will be ready for the inevitable battle.” Bruce smirked like he knew the answer to some inside joke. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking you’re not that bad after all.”

After a day like what he was having, that was the nicest thing Bruce could have said. But he tried to shrug it off. “Well, the Vision seems like a nice…artificial person?”

“I only know a little about the guy, but he is extraordinary. He lifted Thor’s hammer once.”

Loki stopped dead in his tracks. “He did _what_?”

Bruce nodded and bit back a laugh. “Yeah. Surprised all of us too.”

“Well, he…that, wow.”

“Yeah.”

Loki shook his head. The Vision wasn’t just an android with life, but a worthy being to possess the power of Thor. 

That _was_ extraordinary. 

Bruce parted ways with Loki after they left the meeting room, to go to one of the many labs to get some important science thing that Loki didn’t even begin to try and pretend what it was. As he walked down the stairs to the atrium he became aware that someone was following him. Everyone else had left, except for-

“Is there something on your mind, Wanda?” He turned and saw the dark eyed girl standing at the top of the stairs. “It is Wanda, isn’t it?”

She held her head high and marched down the stairs until they were at the same level. “I want you to know that I will be watching you very closely. Think of me as your shadow.”

“And why do I owe the pleasure?”

Wanda huffed and Loki thought her eyes had that red hue again. “You’re dangerous and a wild card. I’ll be watching for any moment you try and betray us. And I should warn you, if you do betray us, I will go inside your head and twist everything around until you don’t even know who you are.”

Usually when he was being threatened he was either annoyed or angered. Not this time. He was fascinated. With this girl, who had the guts to threaten him alone without any of her teammates around and who apparently had the power to do the things she threatened to do, he felt amused. He smirked and mused, “You really do have spunk.”

Wanda rolled her eyes and pushed past him. Well, this whole thing could have all gone better, but it could have gone a hella of a lot worse. Wanda paused and turned back. “Tony Stark asked you to help assemble us and get Bruce here.”

“And I would say, mission accomplished.”

“You acted like the biggest jerk, making quip after quip. You think that was a good job?”

Loki liked this girl. The Vision was lucky to have her. “Probably not, but I have a perfectly logical explanation for why I did such a poor job assembling you all.”

“Oh?”

“I wasn’t really trying.” And with that he walked past her and readied himself for the plane ride to this Wakanda place.

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

_Author’s Note: The reason I had the Avengers facility have semi-terrible security is because it was the only way I could explain how Captain America and all the others came in without setting off some sort of big obnoxious alarm. I mean, in IW, they all just come strolling in. So there has to literally be no guards or anything, because if there had been, they would’ve been stopped. The only guys who are usually there at the facility all the time anyways are Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and maybe Pepper, so the guys are probably like, “Like yeah, we don’t need to pay for guards or anything like that cause we’re badass super heroes. Just have a system like “Friday” or “J.A.R.V.I.S.” watch all the cameras and alert whoever’s around with a silent alarm. That will be enough!” And Pepper just slaps her forehead. (I feel that there would be a hell of lot more security if Peter Parker had decided to join the Avengers. Peter-“Hey, Mr. Stark, what’s this?” *picks up dangerous thing innocently* Tony-“Kid! Put that down right now!” *later tell Vision they need to childproof the whole facility*)_

_On another note, if you didn’t already figure it out, Loki and Bruce’s taxi driver was supposed to be Stan Lee, without me coming right out and saying it was Stan Lee. It’s not a Marvel story without a Stan Lee cameo! R.I.P. Stan Lee :'(_

_P.S. Can you guess who the first “machine based person” that Loki met was?_


	4. Chapter Three: Scarlet Witch and her Intrusive Powers

Rhodey, Sam, and Vision were already on the sleek silver Quinjet like plane when Loki arrived at the landing pad, still being followed by Wanda. The ramp was lowered with little white lights along the side. He walked up the ramp and was soon onboard; to both sides there were rows of gray plane seats with harnesses for take-offs and landings. Vision stood in a small nook off to the right where there was a desk with several computer and holograph screens, with various statics and other information scrolling in some sort of order. Rhodey and Sam were sitting in the two pilot seats in the cockpit surrounded by hundreds of lit up buttons and switches. There were no windows except for the ones in the cockpit.

The whole place reminded Loki of the S.H.I.E.L.D. issued jet plane that he had been on with Stark and the dear Captain when they were heading to the Helicarrier where Nick Fury planned to cage him. He remembered sitting on that plane going over the steps in his head for his massive takeover plan.

_Stars, that feels like a lifetime ago._

He sat down on one of the cushioned seats to the left; Wanda sat directly across from him. She really meant what she said about being his shadow. She crossed her arms and her legs and hardened her stare at him. It almost made him chuckle. _Almost._ It was also slightly annoying because he was pretty sure he had already proved that he could be trusted for the time being. Or at the very least, they could trust his rage.

“So, Wanda, what’s your other name?” he asked, deciding to try and attempt small talk.

“What are you talking about?” she snapped.

“You know, your super hero name. “Captain America”, “Iron Man”, “The Incredible Hulk”. What’s yours?”

She tilted her head to the side and sighed in irritation. “Sometimes people in the media call me “Scarlet Witch”. There, you happy?”

“Tremendously so. But why Scarlet Witch? You are neither scarlet colored nor a witch.”

“Hey, I’m not asking you why you’re called “The God of Mischief” or whatever.”

“No, because it’s quite obvious why,” he said in a low voice with a smirk. She started fidgeting with her rings again.

Bruce came onto the plane with a large black bag filled to the brim with science things and started hurriedly unloading them on the desk in the “science” nook. He explained what every piece of equipment was to Vision who nodded patiently at Bruce’s over the top explanations. Two minutes later, Bruce’s bag was empty, he was talked out, and Natasha and the dear Captain climbed onboard.

“Ready to take-off?” Steve asked Rhodey and Sam walking up to the cockpit.

“All set, Cap,” Sam said and Rhodey nodded in agreement.

“You sent out the message to T’Challa that we’re coming?”

“Yup.”

“Alright, then let’s go.”

The engines fired up and Loki could see exhaust coming from the two repulsor like engines before the ramp closed up. Natasha, Steve, and Vision all sat with Wanda and they all buckled up their harnesses. Bruce deliberately sat next to Loki and they put on their harnesses as well. Rhodey manned the plane as pilot, while Sam was co-pilot. He checked his screens to make sure everything was ready and when he was happy with the results, he said, “And we are ready for take-off.” He flipped the necessary switches and soon the plane was in the midst of a vertical take-off. And even sooner they were reaching a high altitude and were amongst the blue sky and white cotton ball clouds.

Well, that wasn’t all that bad of a take-off. Loki wasn’t really sure what he had expected, but it certainly was a lot smoother than some take-offs he remembered. He remembered the time when he, Thor, and Jane Foster had stolen that Elf ship to travel to the dark world to stop that dreadful Elf, whose name he forgot, from unleashing the Aether, also known as the Reality Stone. Their ship had been one of the many that had crashed into the palace and was no longer infested with Elves. Thor had piloted it and had knocked into literally all of the elegant marble columns that were in the grand hall. Well…not _all_ of them. Loki had pointed that out.

_“I think you missed_ a _column.”_

_“Shut up!”_

…Why did thinking about that hurt?

It wasn’t like it was a memory about the good, happy days or about the mistakes and regrets. It was just a memory about that one time they had to work together but really didn’t want to work together to stop an evil threat from destroying the world as they knew it.

He knew why it hurt.

With Thor gone, everything they had was also gone, including the bickering. And remembering what it had been like between them, at any time, was like being stabbed with a ten inch long dagger through the heart. He sighed deeply and followed the others’ example by unbuckling his harness. He couldn’t go on pretending that Thor’s death didn’t affect him as much as it did. He had to properly mourn him.

When the battle was won. When everything was said and done and Thanos was no longer a threat, he would mourn the loss of his brother. For now, he would be the God of Mischief.

“So, _Red_ ,” he said looking at Natasha. “Why the blonde hair anyway? Did you want to see if you could find a new spring look?”

Natasha finished unbuckling her harness, stood up, ignored Loki completely, and asked Bruce, “Hey, do you want to show me what all the equipment onboard is for?” Bruce eagerly nodded and went with her to the science nook to tell her all about the science crap he brought. Loki sighed again. Bruce was a nice guy, but man, he liked to speak about boring things that did not interest him at all. Oh well, maybe things would get more exciting.

…

This was how the first thirty minutes on the plane went: Rhodey piloted the plane, while Sam sat in the co-pilot seat typing at a computer and occasionally saying a few words to him, Bruce and Natasha chatted about science things, Wanda and Vision sat side by side giving each other short googly eyed stares, the dear Captain stood up by the cockpit, probably to know where they were at all times, and Loki sat in the semi-uncomfortable seat, utterly bored out of his mind. It wasn’t like he didn’t try and make things more lively, it was just that the Avengers were rude people.

Every time he asked a sarcastic question or made a funny quip, these people just glared at him, or worse, ignored him. Did these people not work with Tony Stark? Were they not already used to a smartass? Did they not know to just play along? At least Thor would have said something. Bruce probably would have said something at his, “So how does a relationship between a man who can become a green monster and a heartless assassin work?” question, if he hadn’t been so busy trying to reconnect and impress said assassin.

“So, I was reading about Wakanda on the computer, right,” Bruce was telling Natasha. “Did you know they are by far the most technological advanced country in the entire world?”

Loki softly scoffed, “Bet it is still eons behind Asgardian technology.”

Bruce apparently heard him. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I swear this place is like candy land for a guy like me.”

Loki shrugged. “You should have gone to the science halls in Asgard. Would have probably been better.”

Steve glanced over at Loki with an unreadable expression. “Don’t knock Wakanda till you see it. It might surprise you. Or an even more amazing feat, impress you.”

“My dear Captain, I do so very much doubt that.”

“Ten bucks says your wrong.”

Loki laughed at that. “Petty bets against a so-called above the average Midgardian city? Count me in!”

Steve frowned and went back to paying attention to the cockpit. At that moment, Bruce yawned a large and obnoxious yawn. “Boy,” Bruce said afterwards, rubbing his eyes.

“Tired Bruce?” Natasha said rubbing his arm with the tips of her fingers.

“Well, uh…” he said slightly flustered at her touch. “Yeah, I mean we probably were only on that ship for a couple of days before Thanos came so, we didn’t have that long to get rested up, and then Loki and I have been on the go ever since, so…yeah. I am a little tired.”

“You should get some rest,” Steve said. “It will be a few hours before we get there away.”

Vision stood up. “I agree. You need to be at your best both physically and mentally when we arrive. Sleep is key.” He turned to Loki. “I think that applies to you as well. Especially since you said that using your powers in long bursts tires you out. You should both take this time to recharge.”

“Okay, Vis, I think they get it,” Wanda said standing up as well. 

“Actually, no, I did not understand a single word. Tell it all to me again,” Loki said with a smirk.

Vision half-smiled, but Wanda just gave him that hard stare of her’s. She walked away from the row of seats and up to Bruce. “Dr. Banner, you can get some sleep by laying on the seats.” She motioned her hand to the seats that she and Vision had just vacated.

Bruce shook his head. “No, guys it’s really not that-” he yawned again.

Natasha said, “Alright, that’s it. To bed, mister.”

“But-”

“Nuh-uh, no “buts”. Vision is right.”

Bruce shrugged sheepishly. “Well, okay.” He walked to the right row of seats and laid down across the seats with his head pointed at the door. Within a matter of minutes, he was snoring.

Loki decided to follow Bruce’s example, by laying down across his row of seats, although he had his feet pointed towards the door. It was an old survival instinct. But the Vision had made a valid point that he should take advantage of the time to rest up. Besides, when he woke up, he would be back to normal and could finally heal the large cut on the side of his head.

Lying across the seats in the fashion he was, was hardly comfortable. The seats were not that comfortable to sit on, let alone to use as a bed. Oh well. This was hardly the least uncomfortable place he had ever slept on. Hardly…

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and let it out. He went to the golden field and soon he had drifted off to sleep.

…

Wanda stood between Natasha and Vision, reading but not quite comprehending, the text scrolling on the computer screens a foot away from her face. It was one of those moments when she missed having a cellphone to pass the time. Cells with their GPS tracking chips had to be abandoned when going on the run from the government. It wasn’t too bad all in all. She had her friends and Vis in those scarce moments of happiness and she had spent most of her life without a cellphone anyways, so…

She looked at Vision and ran her hand along his side that had been injured. He glanced up in surprise. “It is like it never happened,” she said agreeing with what he had said in the meeting room.

“Indeed.” He grasped her hand with his own. “Loki has quite the impressive abilities.”

“I know. That’s why I going to shadow him.”

Vision’s eyes squinted in confusion. “What?”

“Yes, what?” Natasha asked crossing her arms.

“I told Loki that I was going to be like his shadow. Whatever move he makes, whether good or bad, I’ll know about it.”

Vision nodded. “I see. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?”

Wanda thought for a moment. “I also kinda threatened him.”

“That’s my girl!” Natasha said playfully hitting Wanda on the arm. “I knew I had taught you how to stand up to jerks well.”

“Nat,” Steve said firmly.

“What? I think it’s safe to say the whole “trust my rage” thing was very affective until you realized who said it. Someone had to tell him what’s what and watch out for him and Wanda is probably the best one of us to do so.”

“Although, to be fair, any one of us could’ve told the God off,” Sam chuckled.

Wanda, Natasha, and Rhodey chuckled too. Vision and Steve didn’t make a sound. Vision let out a small sigh. “I really do not think any of that is necessary.”

“What?” Wanda asked her smile disappearing. “Vis, do you honestly take his word to be true?”

Vision nodded. “In this context, yes. I believe that he has no reason to lie.”

Natasha scoffed, “He doesn’t need a reason to lie, but it helps.”

Vision glanced around at the group. “You truly all believe there is not a trustworthy bone in his body?”

“Well, yeah,” Rhodey said, flipping a switch to increase altitude. “I do however believe he wants to kill Thanos and sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Or in this case, ally.”

“So, you trust his rage?” Natasha said almost mockingly.

“Maybe. Slightly.”

“It will be your funeral,” she mumbled.

Steve spoke up. “I thought we all already agreed that we would work with Loki.”

“There’s a difference between working with and trusting to not betray us, Steve.” Natasha stepped up to Steve until they were only a few feet apart. “And you forced my hand.”

“You were going to shoot the man, Nat.”

“Yeah, I was. We all would’ve been better off for it.” 

“I have an idea,” Sam interrupted, looking up from his computer. “Instead of getting into a second “civil war” over this, we just have Wanda read the God’s mind and see if he’s lying or if he’s on the up and up.”

Wanda thought it was a wonderful idea. That way they could decide once and for all if they could for sure, one hundred percent _not_ trust him. “I’ll do it,” she said.

“Wait a moment,” Vision said, raising his hand to stop her. “You were one of the first to yield after he said he was willing to help.”

Wanda nodded. “Yes. “Trust my rage” really got me, but then two minutes later he’s acting all jokey and mischievous and any glimmer of trust I had flew out the window. Besides, he is dangerous and if his emotions are any reflection of his actions, he should’ve already betrayed us three times.”

Vision stared into her eyes, almost pleading, but he soon realized he couldn’t stop her forever. “As I am in the minority, go ahead.”

Wanda nodded her thanks to him and glanced at the others. “I say do it,” Natasha said. Wanda nodded again and walked from the little group closer to the sleeping trickster.  
“Wanda,” Steve said in a hushed voice. She turned. “Just be careful.”

She smiled. “You worry too much. I’ll be fine.” 

She didn’t stop walking until she was standing next to Loki’s sleeping form. He almost looked peaceful and harmless. She knelt down so she was at the same level with him. She lifted her hand and waved her fingers, her red power forming around her hand. Her eyes turned scarlet and with a flick of her hand, she dove into Loki’s mind.  
And boy, did she get more then she bargained for.

…

_Loki was running after Thor in the beautiful golden field that was on the outskirts of the palace. A silver lake trickled alongside the field filled with shimmering fish. The trees were a rich green and the sky was a crystal clear blue. The sun was a high shining and warm beacon._

_He was not a fan of warm weather, he preferred the crisp and cool seasons of autumn and winter, but this summer day was not all that bad._

_“Thor! Wait for me!” he cried, desperately trying to catch up._

_“Hurry up, Loki!” Thor shouted impatiently. “You’re slower than a Frost Giant!”_

_In Earth years, Thor was eleven and Loki was eight. In Asgardian years, well…they were a lot older. Thor ran through a patch of higher growing grass and a multitude of small white butterflies flew up in surprise. He laughed at the tiny creatures fear._

_“Come on, Loki! This is fun!”_

_Loki caught up and joined Thor with running and scaring the butterflies. Soon the field was filled with swarms of them trying to fly away. It was like running through a snow blizzard. The two brothers laughed and fell to the soft ground and watched the butterflies for a half hour._

_“That was fun,” Thor said standing up and grabbed a handful of smooth pebbles. He tossed them into the lake trying to get them to skip but was failing. Loki followed him and watched._

_“You’re doing it wrong,” he told him. “You have to throw the stone at an angle.”_

_“I am.” Thor threw the next one with too much strength and it went clear over to the other side of the bank._

_“You threw it too hard.”_

_“I know, but that is a much better game anyways. Who can throw the pebble the farthest?”_

_Loki ignored him and instead looked for a small flat stone. He found one that could fit into his palm. He stood with one foot in front of the other, twisted his arm back, threw the stone at an angle, and it skipped across the lake three times. He smiled cheekily at Thor. “Told you, you were doing it wrong.”_

_Thor frowned and said, “How will skipping rocks help you in the future, Loki? You cannot slay any monster just because you have good aim and angle.”_

_“Yes you can! It is called throwing daggers.”_

_Thor laughed at him. “You plan to defend yourself with a small sword?” He let out a hearty laugh, his shaggy blonde hair falling into his face. Loki grew mad and started stomping away._

_“Hey? Loki? Wait! Where are you going?”_

_“Back to the palace,” he snapped. “There I will not be ridiculed about my choice in weaponry.”_

_It had been such a wonderful day. Too bad it ended with Loki leaving in a huff. Who knew that one day, years later he would remember only the good parts as his happy and calm place._

_…_

_When Thor had been allowed to start training a few years earlier than usual, it was all Loki ever heard about. Their father was so proud that his first born son had such talent according to his trainers and he picked up the art of hand-to-hand combat within a matter of weeks. Loki was talented too. He was ahead in his studies, he had read almost half the books in the school’s library, he had taken several extra classes, most were history classes on the realms, but still._

_But his father did not care that he was being praised by all of his teachers._

_The whole family sat at the large redwood table covered with food and listened to Thor go on and on about his training. “And there were these other three boys in the class who I have become friends with! They are a little older than me, but we all share the love of the fight!”_

_Father chuckled and smiled warmly. “It sounds as if you had a wonderful day.”_

_“Yes, father, I did! I can’t wait till tomorrow!”_

_Loki sat in silence listening as Thor got all the attention. He swallowed and asked, “Father?”_

_“Hmm, yes, Loki?”_

_“Can I train with Thor as well?”_

_His father flinched as if he had struck him. He shook his head sadly. “Oh, Loki, you are far too young to start training.”_

_“But Thor is far too young to start training and you allowed him to start training!”_

_“It is different. Your brother possesses a strength to him, it would be cruel to hold him back.”_

_Loki crossed his thin arms. “I bet I would have strength if you didn’t hold me back.” Thor smothered a laugh. Loki’s eyes turned to him with a glimmer of anger. “What is so funny?”_

_“Brother, be serious. You are more suited for reading and stuff.”_

_“I can do both! And you are just jealous that I’m ahead in school and you’re failing basic mathematics, which is the easiest class.”_

_Thor’s eyes widened. Their mother spoke up. “Thor, you are failing a class?”_

_“I-uh, it’s just stupid math! It’s not important.”_

_“All classes are important, Thor,” mother said in a soft but stern tone. She glanced at their father. “Should Thor be doing all of this extra training when he could be using the time to perfect his studies?”_

_Loki smirked, happy with himself. Thor on the other hand was steaming. “I told you that in confidence! I trusted you!” Loki causally shrugged. Thor grabbed a roll and threw it across the table at Loki, but Loki easily dodged it and caught it and threw it back at Thor. He hadn’t expected that and it hit Thor square in the face. Loki laughed until his side hurt. Thor growled and grabbed two more rolls, but their father had enough of this._

_“Enough!” he barked. Thor put the rolls back on their platter and Loki became quiet. “Thor you will keep training, but if you fail anymore classes I will pull you from training myself.” Thor nodded. “And Loki you will wait until you are older.”_

_“But that’s not fair!”_

_“Loki, enough.”_

_And just like that he was supposed to accept his father’s will and be okay with the fact that he was being held back. He folded up his napkin and tossed it on his plate. He got up and left._

_“Loki? Where are you going?” his mother asked._

_“My room.” At least there he could be alone._

_Later that night, his mother came to his room and found him reading by the large golden glass window at the center of his room. She had two old and worn leather back books with her. “Enjoying your reading?” she asked._

_He shrugged. He was still upset over this whole training thing. His mother sat down on the cream colored blankets on his bed. “When I was a child, my cousin, Fintin, was always showing off his artistic talents and it made me jealous when my parents made a big fuss over him.” Loki set his book down and crossed his legs, listening. ““Look at your cousin’s painting, Frigga. Isn’t it lovely?” And it was. But because they were talking about Fintin so much I thought that I had to be exactly like him and be good at art to be accepted.”_

_“But you hate art,” Loki said._

_His mother chuckled, “Indeed I do and I realized that I could not be an exact copy of my cousin, I had to be my own person. One day you will learn to train like Thor, but for now…” She stood up and handed him the two thick volumes. Loki glanced into his mother’s warm glassy eyes and then to the books. He took them from her and read the titles:_ History of Spells and Incantations and Guide into the Mystic Arts.

_His head popped up. “You are going to teach me how to do magic?”_

_His mother nodded. “I will help with the first essential steps of learning but I have a feeling that you will pick up on it fast.” He jumped up from where he sat and hugged her. Her arms tightly wrapped around him. He loved that she always saw the potential in him. She never tried to hold him back._

_“I’ll make you proud,” he promised._

_…_

_Mother had been right, he had picked up on the mystic arts right away. He practiced every day after his studies. He would run to his room and practice. After two months of practicing, he could make himself invisible, conjure up small objects, and transform himself to appear as other people. Or animals…_

_The idea struck him the second he read the spell in the book and he had smirked mischievously at the thought. Now he was waiting for Thor behind a tree to test his new trick and to pull a marvelous prank. He held a long, thin, and incredibly sharp needle in his pale hands. He could barely contain his laughter, then he saw Thor walk outside with his three friends._

_Loki waved his hands and concentrated on the form he wanted to take and then in a shimmer of green light he had done it. He was a smooth and slithering snake._

_Thor walked over to the tree and said to his friends, “Let’s go to the lake, it is such a warm day. We should go swimming!”_

_One of Thor’s newfound friends spotted Loki. It was a fat, frizzy red haired boy who was indeed a few years older than Thor. “Look out! A snake!”_

_Thor smiled. “I love snakes!” He bent down and picked Loki up to admire him. Then Loki changed back to himself and Thor was no longer holding onto a snake but Loki’s shoulder. Thor jumped back in surprised. “What the-!”_

_“Yeah, it’s me!” He stabbed Thor in the side with the needle._

_“Ow! Hey! What did you-Loki!”_

_Loki never ran so fast in his life._

_…_

_The years began to pass and eventually he was finally old enough to start training, which was about thirteen in Earth years. He had good reflexes and hand eye coordination. His instructors were impressed at how fast he was at learning and how swift he was in combat. Thor might have been brawny and could fight off ten guys at once, but Loki could jump between them picking them off one by one. And of course, he picked up the dagger as his weapon of his choice._

_It was easy to carry and very effective. And on top of all of this he had mastered most of the spells in his mother’s books, so he could use both his magic and his dagger when fighting. He had learned a multiplying spell, so he could throw his dagger at a target and magically make it become ten daggers._

_That was certainly more impressive than throwing men around like they were rag dolls. That’s what Thor did. Like all the time._

_But nobody, other than his instructors and his mother, continuously complemented him on how amazing he was at his own strengths like everyone did with Thor, the golden prince of Asgard. Father, the Warriors Three, a girl named Sif who was always following Thor like he was the sun, and all the citizens of the entire empire thought that Thor was the best thing since air._

_Truth be told, Loki did think Thor as a person to look up to and to trust. He was his brother after all. But it just seemed like the scales of love and attention were unfairly made to be in Thor’s favor._

_He would take a deep breath if he found himself dwelling on this thought for too long and either stick his nose in a book or practice with his dagger or magic and put it out of his mind. One day, the people of Asgard and their father would see him and Thor as equals. Two princes, two brothers who were both born to rule and were both just as fit._

_One day._

_…_

_Loki had found a ritual that had caught his eye: it would allow the enactor to walk in the afterlife plane among the deceased. Fascinating. He had mastered most of the other spells and rituals and this one just seemed to call out to him._

_He read over the steps several times and when he was sure that he knew what he was doing, he laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in an “X” across his chest. Then he focused. He slowly raised one hand in the air, it glowed green. Good, he was on the right track. Then he raised the other one, it glowed as well._

_He muttered the spell, “With the power of life in the multiple dimensions, allow me to walk with the dead for a moment.” He twisted his hands, the glow increased. Now all he had to do was slam his hands down at his sides and he would be boosted into the afterlife plane._

_But his mother came in and grabbed him by the wrists and pulled him into a sitting position. “Loki Odinson, what in star’s name are you doing?” she asked slash yelled at him.  
He blinked up at her in surprise. After all the tricks and pranks he had pulled on Thor and after all the almost failed classes Thor had somehow managed to get through, he had never seen his mother so cross._

_“I was just doing the spell.”_

_“I can see that. Why?”_

_“…I was bored?” It came out as a question, because he didn’t know the right answer._

_His mother shook her head in disbelief. “Boredom. You would risk your life because of boredom?”_

_“Risk my…mother, it is just a spell to walk with the dead-”_

_“I know what it is!” she shouted and Loki flinched back. His mother swallowed and tried again. “Loki, there are some people out there in the realms who have their own rituals to speak with their ancestors for brief periods of time. However, this spell allows unlimited time in the afterlife plane and the more a live soul spends there, the weaker it gets until it may be impossible for them to return to the plane of the living.”_

_Ohhh…_

_He hadn’t read that part. Oops. He had been too focused on learning the spell itself, he had forgot to read about the consequences. “I’m sorry. I will never try to do that spell again.”_

_His mother smiled and relaxed. “I know, I am sorry for getting so upset.”_

_Loki smirked. “It’s okay. Now I can bring it up as an excuse to get out of Elf history class. “I can’t possibly study this, because my mother yelled at me!” Can you not just picture it?”_

_His mother laughed. “I can, but don’t you dare do it!”_

_…_

_One glorious and winter day, when Loki was about fifteen in Earth years, he walked to school like it was any normal day enjoying the cool weather. He went to his classes and went about his studies like it was nothing new. However, it was when he was leaving that one of Thor’s teachers stopped him._

_“Excuse me, Prince Loki?” the elderly woman asked._

_“Yes?”_

_“Is there something the matter with you brother, Prince Thor?”_

_He gave her a strange look. “No. Why?”_

_“He did not come to my class this morning, so I asked his other teachers if they saw him. None of them had.”_

_Loki felt his stomach tighten up because he had a vague idea of where Thor was and it made him mad. But he politely smiled and lied through his teeth to the sweet old teacher, “Actually now I remember. You do not have to worry. My brother promised my mother to help with the maintaining of the royal horses and the pastures. He said he would catch up on his studies the next day because he could not stand the idea of mother and the servants doing all the work themselves.”_

_“I did not realize the Queen took such an interest in horses.” Loki hadn’t made that part up, his mother truly loved them. “Then why are you here and not there helping your mother and brother?”_

_Loki didn’t even have to think up his next lie, it just rolled off of his tongue. “I was going to help, but my brother said that he knew how important my studies are to me and that he would not stop pestering me until I agreed to go to school.”_

_The teacher nodded. “Your brother, the Prince, is such a thoughtful person.”_

_Loki nodded as well and mustered up his best fake smile. “Yes, he is.” He bided farewell with the elderly teacher and practically ran home. Thoughtful, his foot. If Loki was right, then Thor was asleep in his room with a hangover._

_And it would not have been the first time either. Thor’s Warriors Three friends were older then him and able to go to the local taverns. They managed to sneak Thor into these places, where they could drink in secret or the tavern keep wouldn’t say anything about Thor’s underage drinking of casks of ale and making a buffoon out of himself, because he was the Prince of Asgard._

_As if that was a good reason._

_He dropped his bag full of books off at his room and marched to Thor’s cave of a bedroom. He knocked on the door and when he didn’t get an answer he unlocked it with a flick of his hand. He stepped inside, the room was almost pitch black as the drapes were drawl shut. He could hear Thor’s snoring, so he was right about where he had been this whole time._

_“Thor?” he whispered. Thor was asleep on the floor, by the foot of his bed, curled up in his yellow colored blankets. Loki tried again. “Thor?” Once again he didn’t get an answer. “Oh for star’s sake, Thor!”_

_“Hmm?” Thor mumbled, still half asleep. “Brother…that you?”_

_“Yes, it’s me.”_

_“Wha’cha doin’ in my room?” he slurred and then he started snoring again._

_“Oh no you don’t!” Loki stepped up to the windows in the room and threw open the drapes, tons of light came spilling into the room._

_Thor woke up and covered his head with the blanket. “Loki, what are you trying to do? Kill me?”_

_“If I were trying to kill you, brother, believe me you would know it.” He walked back to Thor and grabbed his blanket and pulled at it. Thor held on tight and wouldn’t let go. For two minutes it was like they were playing an absurd version of tug-of-war, until Loki grew tired of it and simply made the blanket disappear in a flash of green._

_Thor groaned, “That was my favorite blanket.”_

_“I’ll give it back to you later. Right now, I going to yell at you.”_

_Thor half sat up and shook his head. “Loki, please don’t-”_

_“What were you thinking?!” Thor grabbed his aching head. “You told me that you would never go out and get yourself incapacitated like this on a school night.”_

_“Brother, this is really none of your concern.”_

_“Like hell it isn’t! I had to cover for you because I do not want all of the kingdom to know that my_ perfect _older brother is a drunk!”_

_“I am not a drunk!” Thor flinched at his own yelling. “There is nothing wrong with going with friends and having a good time. Just because you don’t have any friends and have no idea what it is like to have fun, doesn’t mean that you have the right to tell me what to do. You should know your place.”_

_Loki blinked, feeling the hurt from what Thor had said. Was that what Thor really thought or was it because he was not in a good mood and still had alcohol in his system? He sucked in a deep breath and pushed all of that away for right now. He glared at Thor with his wildly messed up hair. “If you ever do this again, I will tell mother and father. I told one of your teachers that you were helping mother with the horses and that you insisted that I go to class. Remember it will you? I do not need you to say some other story and have that teacher thinking I’m a liar.” He spun on his feet and reached for the door._

_“Technically, you are a liar,” Thor called out and Loki just ignored him and left, pretending that he wasn’t deeply bothered by Thor’s comments and lack of concern for how they made him feel._

_…_

_How did he get into these situations? Like seriously?_

_Thor had recently been gifted with the mighty hammer Mjolnir and to celebrate that, along with the fact that Lady Sif had graduated from school and her training at the top of her class, he came up with this “great” idea to go to Nornheim and battle against the radical group of Nornheimians, called “Summerland”, that threatened, as Thor said, “Every single realm in the universe.”_

_Loki would not have given the sword swinging buffoons that much credit, but he wanted to go and join the adventure. He was about nineteen in Earth years at the time and he had only been a part of a handful of battles. He had enjoined the thrill of the battle as much as anyone and he could hold his own, but he preferred to stay home, reading or practicing, not constantly trying to get himself killed. He was not addicted to the battle like Thor was._

_But this was a journey he could not miss out on. He arrived at the Bifrost with Thor by horseback and told the golden eyed gate keeper, Heimdall, where they were going. “Beware, the radical Nornheimians do not exercise restraints on who they kill. Just because you are younger, they will not show mercy.”_

_“They’re just as savage as the Jotuns,” Thor commented, twirling his big ridiculous hammer around. Thor’s hair had grown past his ears and he was starting to grow a slight mustache and beard. He wore his traditional Asgardian armor with a red cape for flair._

_Loki had always kept himself more cleaned up then that, with short slicked back hair and with not a single hair on his face. His favorite color was green so he managed to incorporate it into his high collared and knee long leather coat. Any and all armor that he had to wear was either gold or black. He felt that his outfit was far more practical than Thor’s. He had always imagined Thor running into battle and then tripping over his cape. That would have been the best thing ever._

_The Warriors Three: Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg, all came as well, followed by the beautiful Lady Sif. Once it was time for them to go, they all stood at the entrance of the Bifrost and were sucked into the white rainbow light and landed on Nornheim, the bright and warm realm that never had cold seasons._

_Loki hated it already._

_Then the attack started. Summerland was a much more organized group then any of them had anticipated. They were surrounding them and winning, even against Thor’s powerful new weapon. Thor ordered a retreat, it was a day for firsts, and the group ran until they had escaped every last Summerland follower. They were forced to take shelter in a semi-dark abandoned cave._

_“Well, this is a disaster,” the blonde and dashing Fandral said as they all stood in the cave catching their breaths._

_“Maybe we should head back,” Volstagg said. “We are far enough for Hemidall to open up the bridge without bringing in a Summerland member. We could go home, regroup, eat a meal.”_

_Loki rolled his eyes. Of course, the fat Viking would want to go home and eat._

_“Is that all you think about?” Sif asked, shaking her head. “Food? At a time like this?”_

_Volstagg sheepishly shrugged._

_“We are not running away like a bunch of cowards!” Thor bellowed. Loki would have loved to point out that they already had run away like a bunch of cowards, but he knew if he said it he would be ignored or Thor would tell him to “know his place”. “We need a plan. We need a plan…” Thor seemed to get lost in his thought and started pacing around, fidgeting with his hammer._

_Was he nervous? This really was a day of firsts._

_Hogun, who was almost always quiet until he absolutely had to speak, said, “Three Summerland followers are coming.”_

_Everyone’s heads popped up and they rushed to the entrance of the cave. Three tall and muscular men draped in their shiny silver armor with double edged swords were walking nearer. Everyone quick got back inside the cave, pressing themselves against the walls._

_“Do you think they saw us?” Sif whispered._

_“With our luck, probably,” Fandral muttered._

_“I have a plan,” Thor said, any hint of nervousness vanishing. “In order to do it, I’ll need Loki’s help.” That surprised Loki. Thor never needed his help before with a battle plan. Maybe he had finally accepted his own strengths and saw usefulness in them. “So, this is my plan, Loki we’re going to go out there and pretend you’re hurt.”  
“Okay.”_

_“And then when we’re close enough, I’m going to throw you and you’ll knock them all down.”_

_“…”_

_“Brother?”_

_“What the-that is the most-you are joking, right?”_

_“Um, no.”_

_“That is the best plan you can come up with? That is the worst plan I have ever heard of!”_

_“Shush!” Sif said, waving her hand at him to be quiet._

_“Do you have a better plan?” Thor asked._

_Loki shook his head. “No.”_

_“Then we’re doing it.”_

_“Oh, come on. Give me two minutes, I’m sure I could come up with something eons better than that.”_

_“They are getting closer,” Hogun said._

_“Brother, there is no time!”_

_Loki inhaled and said a begrudging, “Fine.”_

_He walked out with his arm across Thor’s shoulder for support, as he was supposed to pretend to be injured and Thor cried out to the three Summerland followers who saw them, “Get help! Please, my brother!” The three men reached for their swords, but Thor and Loki were close enough and Thor literally hurled Loki at them._

_This was humiliating._

_Loki crashed into the three un-expecting men and they all fell to the ground. Thor laughed heartily and helped Loki to his feet. “See? I told you it would work.”_

_Loki brushed himself off. “It wasn’t that I doubted your plan, it was that I_ hated _your plan.”_

_Thor chuckled and walked closer to the knocked out Summerland followers. He shook his head in disgust. “They would have killed us all in an instant.” Thor turned around to face Loki. “We must have a battle plan to defeat the remaining of Summerland. First, we should get the others and-”_

_At that moment one of the three men who was supposed to be knocked out, sprung up to his feet and un-sheaved his sword. “Thor!” Loki yelled and on instinct he quickly pushed Thor out of the way, and threw a dagger at the Summerland follower’s neck. His dagger reached its target but not before the man had finished swinging his sword, slicing it across Loki’s stomach._

_The Summerland follower dropped to the ground, the dagger protruding from his Adam’s apple and Loki fell to his knees with a pained gasp. “Loki!” Thor ran to him and fell to his knees as well. Loki looked down at his wound, it was gushing with blood. Oh, this was bad, this was bad…stay calm, stay calm. He could save himself if he used his magic, but he never done a healing spell for such a life threatening injury before. He had to focus. Focus was key. Thor reached for him. “Loki, we’ll get you help, we-we can-”_

_“Thor, please shut up,” he whispered._

_“What?”_

_“Shut up!” Thor jumped back, but Loki didn’t have time to explain himself right now. He closed his eyes and squeezed his hands into fists, the glow started out slow and light, but it soon grew until it was almost blinding to look at. The pain started to ease until there was no pain at all and the wound had completely healed up. He had done it, but he almost collapsed from exhaustion._

_“Loki?” Thor asked, concern in his voice as he grabbed him by the shoulders._

_Loki smiled weakly, “I’m fine. Just…need some…rest.” Thor examined where his wound used to be and seemed to understand what had happened. He helped him back to the cave and sat him down near the entrance._

_This is how the rest of their day in Nornheim went: Thor and the Warriors Three left Sif with Loki to attack the Summerland followers at the east side, which was supposedly unprotected, Sif and Loki sat in awkward silence until they heard thunder and fighting nearby, the others were being pushed back to the cave battling almost a hundred members, Sif left Loki to join the fight, and after watching his brother and the rest of their group almost get killed a bunch of times, Loki found the strength to conjure up some smoke to ease the battle and finally turn it to their favor. The Summerland members were fighting blind, and everyone took advantage of that. It had taken a while but they had won over the radicals._

_When they returned, all of them were honored for their help, but Thor was the one who got all the fame for being the “brave and marvelous” leader that he was. And Thor, being the oaf that he was, told the tale of how he had single handedly pulled the Warriors Three, Lady Sif, and Loki out from under the brinks of death and had vanquished the Summerland._

_It was funny really. If it hadn’t been for Loki, the idiot probably would have been killed. But did he ever tell that part of the story? Nope._

_…_

_After all these years, it was finally time for Thor to ascend to the throne as King of Asguard. And Loki could honestly say that he was happy for him. Sort of. Okay, maybe he was a little envious of all the attention Thor was getting yet again and alright, maybe he did let three Frost Giants into Asguard to ruin his big day, but…deep down he was happy for him. The two brothers had met up before the big coronation. “Nervous, brother?” he asked Thor, who laughed at the question._

_“Have you ever known me to be nervous?”_

_“Well, there was the time in Nornheim.”_

_“That was not nerves, brother. That was the rage of battle.”_

_Loki smirked and shook his head, remembering that day. “Ah, I see.”_

_“How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?”_

_Thor was still remembering that day differently than he was. “As I recall, I was the one who veiled us in smoke to ease our escape.”_

_Thor laughed, “Yes. Some do battle, others just do tricks.”_

_Like there was a difference. Loki had almost regretted his mischievous and, let’s face it, treasonous action of cloaking the three Frost Giant who were at this moment almost in the Vault filled with relics, but now… He felt justified. All these years later and Thor still treated him as less than his equal, still made jests about his ability to do battle with a “small sword” and some “tricks”. He kept his mouth shut and smiled for his brother. Let Thor have this moment, he thought to himself, because soon he would be furious that his day was ruined._

_Loki had no idea that soon he would feel that his own_ life _was ruined._

_…_

_It all made sense._

_Perfect, crystal clear sense why his so called “father” never gave him any of the praise that Thor got, always favored Thor over him, even when Thor acted like an idiot. Damn it, it all made sense. Loki was a Frost Giant. He was a monster, and his father-no,_ Odin _may have kept the truth from him all these years, but he had shown his true feeling about him through his lack of equal love and acceptance._

_And through his damn indifference to how Loki learned about Frost Giants. He learned that they were savage, cruel, bastards and almost everyone, Thor included, made jokes or slurs about them. Did Odin not care? Did he not think that one day Loki would figure it out and realize that his suspicions of being an outcast were true and that his already fragile self-esteem would shatter completely?_

_His mother (was he supposed to call her Frigga now?) had told him that Odin had wished to keep the truth about what he was from him, so he would never feel different. That was downright laughable. He had always felt different. Odin and Thor had made him feel different, didn’t they know that? Why didn’t they see that they had been hurting him all these years?_

_It did not matter anymore. He would never be able to prove his worth to anyone, let alone to the only people who ever mattered. This could not get any worse._

_…_

_It had gotten worse._

_His mother had given the throne over to him and at first the very idea was terrifying. But then he realized that his mother still had faith in him, still was so sure that he could be accepted by being his own person. And then the scheme formed in his mind. Make a deal with the Frost Giants, but double cross them so that it appeared that he had saved Odin when they attempted to kill him. Then he would be completely justified in destroying Jotunheim. If there were no more Frost Giants then he couldn’t be a Frost Giant. Right? And the people of Asguard, his mother, his father they would all see his worth and they would love him._

_They would love him._

_Then Thor made things difficult and then he did the impossible, he destroyed the Bifrost._

_Why couldn’t Thor have just let him do it? He always got away with everything! He always was praised as the golden Prince of Asguard, who was so smart, so battle savvy! Loki always kept his mouth shut. Always tried to do what he was supposed to. Yeah, he pulled off some pranks, some tricks and do you know what happened? “Loki, why can’t you be more like your brother? You never see him running around turning into snakes.”_

_And as Loki held onto the royal staff, as the broken Bifrost fell through a newly formed wormhole, looking up at Thor and Odin he tried one last attempt._

_“I could have done it, father!” he shouted. “I could have done it! For you! For all of us!” He looked at Odin, hope filling his chest. He had to see it now, right? How much he longed for the attention that Thor got, for the acceptance, how he had so much locked away hurt that was eating away at his heart. Odin saw that, right?_

_“No, Loki.”_

_Those two words broke him. More than any other words had. He had spent so many years fighting against the tears, but today he let them flow down his cheeks and he decided he was done. Done with the hurt and pain. He had reached his limit. He let go of the staff._

_…_

_The last thing he remembered was falling. He had been falling for a long time, through space and all of its vast colors and stars. He had to die at some point. He just had to. Or maybe he would just spend eternity in the stomach clenching action of falling. He had closed his eyes, trying to find some sort of peace, but he just felt deeply saddened._

_Then suddenly he woke up._

_Loki was confused as to where he was and how he was still alive. He was no longer falling, quite the opposite actually. He was laying on his back on a hard, cold dark gray stone floor. He tried sitting up and found that his body ached. Of course, after falling for so long, being in a place with gravity would be a shock to the system. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room that was made out of the same stone as the floor._

_The shadows clung to the walls in this place and when he let a deep breath out, he could see his breath. Cold weather never had bothered him (and now he knew why), but it was odd to him to be in such a cold place. Where was he? And what had happened to his armor? All he had on was his black trousers and the soft light green shirt that he had worn underneath all of his layers of armor._

_He was in the motion of trying to sit up better when an unseen door opened up, harsh and dull light came in as well as a tall woman with thin white lips and what looked like ram’s horns protruding from the sides of her head. “Well, well, look who’s alive. Father will be so pleased.” Before he could even think, she had pulled out a spear, twisted it around until three blades popped out of the top, and pointed it at him. “On your feet!” she hollered._

_Now Loki really did not know what was happening._

_The woman walked behind him with the blade pointed at the back of his head as he was led through a large and dismal space craft until they were at the center of the ship. The center was open but still dark and shadowed. You could see that all of the corridors and hallways led to this spot where there was a huge stone craved chair that looked like a throne. The woman pulled him by the shoulder and stopped him several feet away from the throne._

_A man draped all in a thick cloak stepped out of the darkness of the ship. The figure said in a croaking voice, “Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, I am the Other and the woman behind you is Proxima Midnight. You are about to be in the presence of one of the universe’s greatest and most powerful beings. Make sure you show respect.” The “or else” was very heavily implied. Loki heard loud footsteps approach from behind him, but he did not move, because he wasn’t sure he was supposed to or not._

_A deep, thunderous, and commanding voice said, “So, the Asgardian awakes at last.” The footsteps continued until they were past Loki and he glanced up at the giant towering man who they belonged to. The man was of the Titan race with the trademark lined chin and light purple pink skin tone. Odin had said that all of the Titans had died due to overpopulation on their planet, but why he still believed anything that his so called father had told him was beyond him._

_The Titan walked to the throne and sat down. He looked like a king or a god. He stared down at Loki. “No thanks are necessary for saving your life.” An irrational fear was building up inside of Loki because besides being brought to this room by spear point, this man was giving him a bad feeling. “My name is Thanos. I am of Titan and I am burdened with a glorious purpose that I hope that you will help me with.”_

_Loki swallowed down his fear the best he could. “A p-purpose?”_

_Thanos chuckled, “Yes. My purpose is to save the universe.”_

_“From what?”_

_“From extinction. There are entire worlds with too many people stretching out an already strained amount of resources. How long till they starve themselves to death or go to war over land? I mean to save half of all walks of life by obliterating the other half.” Loki blinked up at the Titan, completely and incredibly confused and he realized his fear was justified. What was he doing here? As if Thanos had read his mind he said, “You are here because I saw what happened to you. You were cast out of your own realm, your own kingdom. Do you want a chance to prove yourself as a king? I know how you can and what you can do to help me with my endeavor.”_

_Loki shook his head. That’s why he was here? To help some crazed man and prove himself a king? “I tried to prove myself to be a worthy king. Just as a worthy son. But it does not matter anymore, I failed. I don’t care about proving myself anymore, it is too painful. I just-”_

_“Enough.” Thanos did not have to yell to make Loki stop speaking; his voice had such a way of commanding you to do what he wanted. “You think you know what pain is? You have no idea.” Loki wrapped his arms around himself. Thanos sighed, “I had so hoped we could do this the easy way, however…”_

_Proxima Midnight, who was still behind Loki, sliced her three bladed spear across the back of his left leg. He cried out and fell to his knees. He barely had time to process the pain in his leg when the cloaked figure swung a long metal pole and caught him under his chin. He went flying backwards and crashed to the ragged stone floor. He just laid there in a daze, tasting the metallic blood in his mouth. Thanos stood up and took the spear from Midnight. “How disappointing,” he murmured and then he thrust the spear deep into Loki’s shoulder._

_He screamed._

_…_

_Thanos had thrown Loki back into, as he realized it to be, his cell, himself. Loki let out another cry of pain when he landed on his bloody and wounded shoulder. He was gasping for air and he no longer cared that tears were starting to come. “Why didn’t you just let me die?” he whimpered as he managed to get off of his shoulder and flop onto his back._

_Thanos stood perfectly still and in a tone that held an underlining malice, said, “Because you have potential to be a worthy ally.”_

_Loki reached for his right shoulder and felt the warm liquid coming from the three small, but effective blade wounds. “You don’t need me. You could align yourself with anyone.”_

_“True. Very true. But you are here, aren’t you?” Loki kept quiet and he couldn’t help but start to shake. “Rest up. Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe you’ll be more willing to listen then.” The Titan shut his cell door with a metal clang._

_Loki stayed where he was for several minutes, slowly healing his shoulder, then his leg, and finally where he had bit his mouth. He then moved away from the door, far away from the door, and curled his legs up to his chest. He felt like a child who had been naughty and sent to his room to await punishment. But he hadn’t done anything. He had just been mildly tortured for absolutely no reason. Well, not for no reason. He had refused to listen to Thanos’s scheme to have him prove himself and help him with a crazy purpose that didn’t make any sense. It was a reason, but not a very good one._

_…_

_The next day was worse. A flat faced man came for him this time and when he saw Loki without his injuries he shouted, “What sorcery is this?!” The ugly pale man lifted his hand up and Loki flew backwards into the cell wall, his back getting scratched up from the jagged stone walls. The man walked further into the room. “I had no idea that you had powers. This shall be interesting,” he said with a small unnerving smile. Loki swallowed nervously as he tried to sit back up. “I will be back in one moment.”_

_And he was. And he wasn’t alone. He had brought a man with pointed ears and a sword. “This is Corvus Glaive,” the flat faced man said. “He and I are part of Thanos’s great Black Order. Our mission is to save the world by-”_

_“Yeah, I heard all about it yesterday,” Loki interrupted._

_The flat faced man grew angry. “Apparently you did not listen well enough, otherwise you would not be in this cell. And do not ever interrupt me again.”_

_“Apologies,” Loki muttered._

_The flat faced man stepped up to Loki until he was about a foot away. “You do not have to apologize until we are done with you.” He swung his arm in the air and as if Loki had been struck he fell backwards again. Then the Corvus Glaive fellow who had been quiet this whole time threw down his sword and started pummeling him with his fists._

_He wasn’t sure how long this lasted, it was hard to keep track of time when all you can think about is pain and blood, but eventually the flat faced man stopped Glaive. “Thank you for your assistance, Corvus. It was much appreciated.” And then as if nothing happened, Glaive left. The flat faced man kneeled down next to Loki and whispered, “You would do well to keep your injuries, if not…well, I think you understand what will happen. I will tell Thanos to wait till tomorrow to speak to you again.” Then the man stood up and left._

_Loki didn’t know the flat faced man’s name but he already knew that he hated him. He hated everyone on this enormous ship. Everyone. Even the ones that he hadn’t met before, because no doubt they were like the few he had already met: cruel and wanted to see him bleed. He had to stop himself from starting to heal the bruises and the few broken bones, it was an old habit. It was a habit that he was being forced to break._

_He truly didn’t understand why any of this was happening. Maybe he had died and this was Hell. But there was a sick feeling in his stomach that told him that he was alive and that this place was worse than Hell._

_…_

_How long had he been on this damned ship? Three days, several weeks, months, years, centuries? Time became lost in this place and every second felt like a lifetime spent in agony. The only thing that made him sure that there were separate days at all was every once in a while some member of the Black Order, or as he soon learned, one of Thanos’s children would come for him and bring him to Thanos. There he would be asked if he was ready to listen to Thanos’s plan and every time Loki tried to explain that he was no longer interested in proving his worthiness. Once he tried to tell Thanos that he was no longer interested in life at all. Thanos just laughed at him. “Then you are in the wrong place because I can assure you that you will never die here. You will wish for something as sweet as death but it will never come.” Then whoever had brought him would either torture him there in front of Thanos or drag him back to his cell and do it there._

_Laying far away from the cell door with his feet pointed at the door, because one time he had slept with his head facing the door and Midnight had kicked him in the head to wake him up, he stared at the dark stone ceiling and thought about nothing but the pain and what had got him to this place. When he thought about that he would have a stupid rush of hope that maybe, just maybe, Thor or Odin or someone from home would come and rescue him. He could go home and embrace his mother. But there was no point in hoping because hope did not survive long in this place. Hope was comforting and everything comforting was taken away from him._

_Or that’s what he had thought._

_…_

_He was laying on his side, his arms wrapped around his midsection trying desperately not to scream. It had been Ebony Maw’s, the name of the flat faced man, turn to take Loki to Thanos and when Loki refused once again to listen he had broken three of Loki’s ribs. It was scary how easy it was for Maw to do. He just clenched his fist and Loki fell to the ground crying. Now he was just waiting to black out. Sweet, sweet unconsciousness. Oh, how he longed for it. But then the all too familiar sound of his metal cell door opening and then closing, woke him from any type of sleep._

_His mind was starting to race and to panic. Why was someone else here? It couldn’t have been a day already, right? Unless the rules had changed and he was now to visit Thanos more frequently. Why couldn’t they at least wait until he could stand without tearing up? He felt a cold hand on his shoulder and a female voice said, “Ebony loves a little death, but when he can’t have any, torture is the next best thing.” He instantly forgot about what he had been thinking about because he was so entranced by the strong and yet soft and strangely metallic voice that was now echoing in the cell. “I had hoped to come here when you were in a better condition but…I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”_

_Loki was confused, but then again he had been for a while. “Y-you’re not…not h-here to take me to…to Thanos?”_

_“No. He doesn’t even know I’m here.” That peaked his interest. He wanted to turn around, to sit up to see whoever this girl was, but the moment he tried he screamed. “Here,” the girl said and helped him to get on his back and then leaning up against the stone wall. This certainly was a change. All the people who came for him never helped him. Maybe they dragged him around like he was an old rag doll, but they were not like this girl who went out of her way to support his weight and try to make it less painful._

_Loki glanced at the girl. Her skin was blue and she was bald with large black eyes but the thing that stood out was her metal arm and the computer like machine grafted to the side of her head. She certainly was unlike anything he had ever seen before. She eyed him in the same way that he was eyeing her. “Why are…are you here t-then?” When had he become so horrible at speaking and when did his voice become so hoarse?_

_The blue girl sighed, “I have lived on his ship with Thanos as my father for most of my life, with those dreadful people that you have met as my siblings. As you can imagine, none of us have a good functional relationship. I have come here because I just need someone to talk to.”_

_Loki wasn’t really sure what to do with that. He was in terrible pain, so bad to the point that tears were slipping down his cheeks at this very moment and then this new person came and said this to him. She wanted to talk? He didn’t understand and he supposed it didn’t matter. All that mattered was one thing. “H-how do I…do I know I can t-trust you?”_

_The girl shook her head. “You can’t. There is nothing I can say that will make you believe me and honestly, you shouldn’t trust me. I won’t help you escape or put in a good word with father. I won’t even kill you if you begged me to. I just need people to talk to and the prisoners are always the best people.”_

_Prisoners are always the best people. Of course. She had done this before. “So we’re not… friends or…or allies?”_

_“Correct.”_

_“And I can’t trust you?”_

_“Yes.” She was honest, or at least she seemed to be honest. This could be a trick or maybe he wasn’t the only sane person on the ship who thought that this was madness. If she was telling the truth, it made sense why she would need to talk to someone and why she would not trust the Black Order members. And if it was a trick, what more could he possibly have to lose?_

_“So…what do you wish…to t-talk about?”_

_“What’s your name?” she asked as she sat down on the floor with her legs crossed._

_“Loki. And yours?”_

_“Nebula.”_

_“Can I…can I ask you s-something, Nebula?”_

_“Within reason, yes.”_

_“H-how long have I been…on the ship?”_

_“Two and a half months.”_

_Loki gasped and wearily shook his head. “Stars above.” It had been that long and at the same time not that long at all. “Why?” he whispered._

_Nebula glanced down at the ground and then back up at him. “Father is after powerful objects that will help speed along his plan to “save the universe”. He has one already and he thinks that you can help him get another one. He figured that he would offer to help you gain a new kingdom or whatever in return for your help, but you seem dead set on moping around.” She didn’t mince words, she got right to the point and he found that to be refreshing. He also finally was learning why he truly was here._

_“Y-you don’t talk like…like the others do about T-thanos.”_

_She softly scoffed, “Look at me.” She raised her artificial hand up, it reflected the little light that was in the cell. “He did this to me. What reason do I have to care about his plan?” There was a bitter bite to how she asked that rhetorical question. There was relatable pain in it._

_Loki nodded. “I understand.”_

_“No you don’t. But you understand better than my siblings.”_

_He wasn’t sure what else to say at this point. This wasn’t like the small talk he had had with his teachers in school or the guards in the palace. He couldn’t ask something as transparent as, “How is your day today?” And she seemed willing to talk about the people on the ship, so maybe he should take advantage of that. “Tell me about…about your siblings.”_

_Nebula exhaled almost annoyed and said, “Well, let’s see, there is Ebony, Proxima, Corvus, and the Other who you have already met. What more do I have to say about them? Then there is Cull Obsidian. He’s a piece of work. Always going around trashing things. Then there is Thane who is actually Thanos’s blood child, but father doesn’t care about anyone as much as he does his favorite daughter Gamora.” Loki had thought that she had been annoyed before, but when she uttered the name of her sister, or as he assumed step-sister, she became down right angry. “Gamora is the best fighter according to him, better than any of us.”_

_“Jealous?”_

_“I am not jealous!” she shouted and he instantly regretted saying it. She closed her eyes and started taking deep breaths until she had calmed down from her outburst. “I could go on and on about my own problems, but that’s not why I’m here.”_

_“You wish to talk a-about someone else’s…problems,” he said now understanding why she would risk visiting him and apparently other prisoners. She needed someone to talk about their lives so she could forget about her’s. Unfortunately, that is what Loki planned on doing. Oh well. Even reliving the hurtful past with someone was better than sitting in this dark cell all alone._

_…_

_Life was still miserable but it became somewhat bearable after he had met Nebula. About every two or three days she would sneak into his cell and they would talk for an hour or so, always picking up where they had left off as if they hadn’t been apart for a couple of days. One day after a particular vicious beating by Glaive, she came in and said, “So, you and your brother and your band of friends all were going to Nornheim.” It was like they had taken a pause from the insanity of the events that went on in the horrible ship to be actual people._

_“Yes. We were going to Nornheim to fight…fight the Summerland.”_

_“Right, sure, I remember now. You all got ambushed and then you all ran to the cave. That’s where you left off.”_

_“Well, Thor came up with the…“brilliant” plan that we l-later dubbed, “Get help”.”_

_Nebula almost smirked. “Why do I get the feeling that this was a terrible plan?”_

_Loki chuckled but then had to stop because it hurt too much. “You catch on fast.” He told her how that day in Nornheim ended and she almost chuckled when he told her how Thor threw him at the Summerland members._

_It was odd. He had told her so much of his life in so short a period of time. It was amazing really. Besides his “family” he had never been that open with anyone. Hell, he was probably more open with Nebula then with his entire family. He wasn’t sure if that was because he was vulnerable and willing to open up to anyone or if the two of them had a real connection. Probably the first, she had made it crystal clear the first day they met that they were not friends._

_“There was one time when Gamora and I were tasked with going to Knowhere to find a man who knew about the powerful objects that father wants. We needed to blend in and sneak in to talk to him because he doesn’t just see people without requesting it. So my “brilliant” sister said that we needed to disguise ourselves like we were fancy Xandar commanders. Have you ever seen what those people wear? I felt ridiculous!”_

_“Then you…you probably would despise Asgardian fashion.”_

_She nodded. “I saw your armor. What are you people, Vikings?”_

_He chuckled and grimaced at the same time. “You have no idea. Although, I guess I’m technically not an Asgardian.”_

_“What do you mean? Father said that’s where you came from and that’s what you have been telling me.”_

_Loki decided to stop going in order and skip right to the bombshell that would eventually lead him to his current predicament. “I am adopted. Odin and Frigga of Asgard are not my birth parents.” Nebula was quiet, she probably didn’t know what to say. If there was anything he had learned from their short time talking with each other, it was that she was not good with dealing with emotions. Whether they were her own or someone else’s, she just seemed to freeze up. He continued on, “My birth father was the King of Jotunheim.”_

_Nebula looked up with a glimmer of surprise in her big black eyes. “Jotunheim,” she repeated. “Isn’t that the realm with the giant red-eyed creatures who live in the extreme cold?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Huh. You don’t look anything like those giants.”_

_He shrugged, “Magic.”_

_“So those green eyes of yours aren’t real, they’re just because of some sort of magic?”_

_He hadn’t thought about it like that. Everything that he thought he knew about himself was really and truly a fiction. “I suppose so.”_

_“Well…now it makes sense why you never complain about the cold.” And that was it. She just accepted him for what he was and moved on. If they had been friends he would have been choked up by her easy acceptance. Maybe he was even though they weren’t friends._

_“Y-you don’t care that I come from a race of…monsters?”_

_“Loki, look at me.” He did. “You hardly seem like a monster.” That was kindest thing said to him ever since he woke up in his cell for the first time. “At least you have your powers or whatever to appear normal.”_

_“I…” What was he supposed to say to that? She didn’t like talking about her mechanical parts or how she got them. All he knew was that she had them because of Thanos. “I’m sorry,” he said, deciding on what to say._

_Nebula curled both her hands into fists. “Don’t feel sorry for me.”_

_“I don’t, I just-”_

_Nebula stood up and started pacing the room. “I know what you are thinking. “The poor cyborg girl, let me feel sorry for her because her life is so difficult.” I can get on all by myself, thank you very much!”_

_“I’m sure.”_

_“You’re damn right. I don’t need you to apologize or care. I don’t need that!”_

_“Of course.”_

_“I only come here to pass the time, nothing more!”_

_“Nebula?”_

_“What?” she snapped turning back to him._

_“You really need to get better at lying.”_

_Nebula blinked several times, perhaps blinking away tears. “You’re right. I suck at lying.” She sat back down where she had been sitting a few feet away from him. “Sometimes…” she swallowed and tried again, “I come to talk to the prisoners because they are all I can afford and I am all they can afford.” Loki nodded, understanding. “But sometimes, I get so lost in their stories of what their lives were before here that when I am reminded that we all are on this damned ship, I lash out.”_

_Loki nodded again. It made sense to him. “Talking is how…how you cope, but when you stop the talking you don’t know what to do.”_

_“You have a knack for rehashing the obvious.”_

_“Thank you,” he said sarcastically. “When I don’t know what to do or how to cope I think back to a calm memory when my brother and I were children.”_

_“I don’t have any calm memories,” she whispered, her voice sounding softer than he had ever heard it before._

_“Then you can use mine.” He slowly twisted his hand until a faint green glow materialized around it. It had been a long time since he had used his magic, so it was slightly difficult, but it was like getting back on the horse after months of not riding. You never truly forget how to do it. He projected his memory of the golden field by the silver lake as an illusion that engulfed the entire cell._

_He and Nebula were no longer in the cold and shadowy cell, but in the golden field with the bright blue sky overhead, surrounded by emerald green leafed trees. She stood up right away in surprise. She looked around her in a sort of amazement. “Whoa.”_

_“Neat, isn’t it?” he said with a weak smile. He found himself staring at Nebula who was watching the memory unfold with great interest. He had never seen her in daylight or even artificial light. She was tall and lean and despite the lack of hair and the artificial machine parts that were used as her body parts, she was quite pretty. It was something he had never noticed before. Interesting. When the white little butterflies flew up in surprise, Nebula reached out and tried to touch them, but her hand went right through them and they disappeared with a flash of green. “Illusions are not solid,” he explained._

_“But still, it’s amazing,” she said deeply impressed._

_“Thank you.”_

_“Sure.”_

_He smiled again. If the rest of his life was to be spent on this ship being put through a daily torment, then he was just happy he had these few moments to spend with someone else._

_…_

_It had started as a normal day: Obsidian had been the one to take him to Thanos, he said that he didn’t care about Thanos’s plan, Obsidian started to punch him repeatedly in the stomach. But soon things became very different very fast. “Enough!” Thanos shouted. Obsidian let Loki drop to the ground. Thanos glared at him. “You are wasting my damn time!”_

_It was the first time Thanos had ever gotten so visibly and vocally upset, and it scared Loki to his very core. Thanos stood from his throne, his fist curled up. Loki flinched and the Titan hadn’t even hit him yet. Thanos stomped over to him and picked him up by the shoulder. He shook him when he said, “Do you think you are doing yourself any favors by prolonging this? You think that dear old dad and your brother will come and save you? They have forgotten all about you!”_

_“What? No-”_

_“Yes! They never cared about you. Not them, not any of your precious Asgardians.”_

_Loki shook his head desperately. “You’re wrong! In their own way, they did!” He had to believe that. In their own, not equally distributed way, they had._

_Thanos stood perfectly still, staring into Loki’s eyes, perhaps into his soul. “Let me show you what you truly meant to those soulless Asgardians.” In Thanos’s fist was a yellow shining stone. He pressed it along with his palm against Loki’s right temple. Loki gasped and his eyes widened as the memories flooded his mind:_

_“Loki enough.”_

_“You plan to defend yourself with a small sword?”_

_“You are a liar.”_

_“Know your place, brother.”_

_“Some do battle, others just do tricks.”_

_“I was trying to protect you from the truth.”_

_“No, Loki.”_

_It was too much, the blinding pain from all of the continuous flashing memories. Thanos was right. About Odin, about Thor, the Asgardians, everything. He meant nothing to them. Less than nothing. They wouldn’t have put him through years and centuries of torment if he had meant something to them. And he hated them. Stars, how he hated them._

_Suddenly the pain was gone and he was falling to the ground. He landed with a soft thud. “What did you say?” Thanos asked sounding more like his calm self._

_Loki was shaking, tears were streaming down his face, and his throat was sore and strained. Had he been screaming? He did not know, the blinding pain had practically consumed him. “What?” he whispered._

_“What did you say?” Thanos repeated._

_Had he said something? He didn’t recall saying anything, unless he had said what he had been thinking. Maybe in the heat of the pain he had screamed out what was going through his mind. That made some sort of sense. So he repeated his last thought. “I hate them,” he whispered shakily. “All of them…Thor…Odin…the Asgardians. I_ hate _them.” Saying it out loud made him realize how true it was. He sat up and curled his legs to his chest. “All I ever wanted was…was to be Thor’s equal, but that…that was too much for them.”_

_Thanos stepped closer and patted Loki on the shoulder almost sympathetically. “I understand. The people of Titan casted me out because I saw what they refused to see.”_

_“Y-your glorious purpose?”_

_“Exactly. Do you wish to listen to me talk about it and your purpose in all this?”_

_His purpose? Some crazy idea to prove himself a king. He was born to be a king, wasn’t he? But those damn Asguardians prevented him from fulfilling his birthright. “Maybe.”_

_Thanos patted him again in some sort of approval._

_“Better. Much better.”_

_…_

_He had been allowed to heal his broken bones and most of his cuts after listening to Thanos talk for hours on end about his purpose. He also was allowed to trade his shredded clothes for his traditional green and black outfit. He walked around his cell for the first time in weeks, thinking over everything Thanos had said:_

_“There are six powerful stones in the cosmos called Infinity Stones. This stone,” he motioned to the yellow stone in his palm, “is one of them. It is called the Mind Stone.”_

_“It’s beautiful.”_

_“It is. Now, there is another stone on Earth. It is the Space Stone, but it is also known as the Tesseract. You being an Asguardian, I assume that you already know what it is.” Loki nodded. “Good. I wish to have the Tesseract and to have you get it for me. In exchange for vowing to help me, I will give you what you desire. A place to prove that you are a king.”_

_Loki knew that these stones were weapons and with them Thanos could accomplish his dream of saving the universe by destroying the other half. That in itself was crazy. But now he felt like he wanted to hear more about this chance to prove himself as a king. Maybe, just maybe…no, it was ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly become the King of, he assumed, Earth. It was madness. Wasn’t it? Nebula came into the cell in a huff and shouted, “Those idiots!”_

_This wasn’t uncommon. “Bad day, was it?” Nebula started when she saw him standing and in clothes not torn._

_“You’re standing.”_

_“Yes.”_

_“How?”_

_“I listened to your father for a while and he allowed me to heal myself of most of my injuries.”_

_“You listened to…did he use the stone on you?”_

_“Well, yes.”_

_Nebula clenched her fists. “Listen to me, that stone is-is dangerous. It can get into people’s heads and twist them around until they don’t know who they are anymore.”_

_“All he did was show me what I already knew.”_

_“Which was?”_

_“My hatred for my so called father and brother and the rest of Asgard.”_

_Nebula shook her head. “Don’t you see? It’s happening already! He’s going to brainwash you!”_

_“Nebula-”_

_“You don’t know him like I do! He takes things and people and corrupts them.” She paced around the cell getting more and more worked up. “You’ve been here for months. I thought you were different. I thought you weren’t going to give into his manipulation.”_

_Loki suddenly grew upset. “What did you think I was going to do? Spend the rest of my life here, being tortured every day?”_

_“No, but I thought you were stronger than this.”_

_He chuckled humorlessly. “What do you want from me then?”_

_“I don’t know!”_

_“Do not shout at me.”_

_“I’m not shouting!” she yelled and in a fit of anger she punched the stone wall with her metal hand, a bit of the wall broke up and two of her metal fingers were crushed from the force of her punch. Loki raised his eyebrows up at her. She rubbed her broken fingers with her other hand and muttered, “Okay, maybe I was shouting.”_

_He took a deep breath, “Okay. Nebula take a breath and give me your hand.”_

_“Why?” she asked almost sounding on the defense._

_“So I can bloody heal it.”_

_“Have you ever healed a machine based person before?”_

_“No, but how different can it be from a person of flesh and blood?” She reluctantly gave her hand over to his opened hand and he flicked his hand. The green glow shined from both of their hands. He felt very tired after healing her hand, after all of the healing he had done to himself and the transformation of his clothes, this was what tired him out. Nebula opened and closed her hand, examining her newly healed fingers._

_“Good as new,” she commented._

_“Yes.”_

_“I…Don’t lose yourself to him.”_

_He sighed, “I won’t.”_

_Nebula opened her mouth, unsure of herself and yet she appeared as if she knew exactly what she wanted to say, but she closed her mouth. “I should leave.”_

_“Alright. See you in a few days?”_

_“Of course.” Then she slipped out of the cell, leaving Loki to think over everything that she had said._

_…_

_Thanos ordered him to see him the next morning. “Good to see you,” Thanos said as if they were old friends. Loki could have laughed at that thought. “I wish to show you something that I think might interest you. I told you about the Tesseract, but you have never seen its true power or the worlds it can unlock.”_

_“Well, no.” Loki walked slowly and cautiously behind Thanos as he walked to his throne and picked up his Mind Stone. He froze._

_Thanos chuckled. “Do not be alarmed. I will not use it the way I did before.” Loki didn’t want to go any closer, but he knew that the Other and perhaps some other members of the Black Order were lurking nearby. He stepped forward. Thanos opened his hand and the stone seemed to flair up. Suddenly Loki saw things that left him in awe. He was seeing worlds and dimensions that he had never seen before. They were vast in colors and creatures and life forms. So many things, new information and ancient knowledge that he could spend the next thousand years learning about. And the Tesseract, with its shimmering blue glow. People had thought that it was an energy source, but it was much more than that. It was a devise to travel to the different worlds. It could create portals through space and led to the realms of the entire multiverse._

_“It’s amazing,” he whispered, his eyes still seeing everything. “There’s so much…”_

_“Yes, exactly. So much and yet so little. Too many people to fight over the dwindling resources. That is why I need the Tesseract. To fulfill my purpose and yours.”_

_Suddenly he was no longer seeing the different worlds but seeing other information that Thanos wanted him to see. Things that he had never thought about but seemed to make sense. Earth and the humans with their fleeting lives, who slaughtered themselves in droves. They had their freedom and what good did it do them? It made them worse off. Of course, they needed someone to rule them and make things better. He could do that. He could be their king. The King of Midgard, his glorious purpose._

_…_

_Loki had shadowed Erik Selvig, the human scientist who had become friends with Thor when he had been banished to Earth. He was working on the Tesseract for a human organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. who thought that they could control the cube. They were so funny that way. Trying to tap into a power they had no hope of controlling. They truly were meant to be ruled._

_The scheme was made and the steps to the plan laid out. He learned about the so called extraordinary humans, Tony Stark, Dr. Banner, Captain Rogers, and a few others. They were such lost creatures that would have no chance against him and the army he was given. He learned that the Mind Stone was being forged into a weapon for him to use on Earth, a scepter. A king did deserve a scepter. It would not be long till he would use the Tesseract and the scepter to reach Earth and start putting the steps to his plan in motion._

_Nebula came to visit him in his new room that was much more appropriate for a person who was of the living. “You didn’t listen to me,” she snapped, when she rushed in._

_“Whatever happened to knocking?”_

_“Don’t get cute with me. I told you to not let him get inside your head. Do you realize what you’re doing? What you’re planning to do?”_

_“Of course I know what I am doing! I am going down to Midgard to fulfill my birthright as a king.”_

_Nebula narrowed her eyes at him. “You never wanted the throne in your own realm. Now all of sudden you care about ruling? Thanos took your anger, your rage and turned it into an instrument of destruction. He’s using you.”_

_“And what were you doing, Nebula?” he asked as he stalked closer to her. “I am nothing more than a way for you to forget about your hardships. Is that it? Are you upset that I am no longer a prisoner? That I have a purpose and you can no longer come to me and share your pathetic life?” She charged at him and grabbed his throat with her metal hand. He wasn’t so much surprised by the tight hold on his throat, but by the large display of emotions going on in her eyes. On instinct, he had pulled out his dagger and held it to her throat. They stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. “Can I assume that this means that you will miss me?” he asked quietly._

_“No.”_

_“You really do need to get better at lying.”_

_She tore her hand away from him and stepped away. He caught his breath and rubbed his now tender throat. She crossed her arms. “This will probably be the last time we ever see each other.”_

_“It’s a possibility.”_

_“Then let me try one more time to convince you-”_

_“Nebula, shush for one minute.” She closed her mouth but glared at him. He whispered, “Do you honestly think I will give your father the cube or the scepter back once I have my kingdom safely secured?”_

_She blinked in confusion. “You would double cross him?”_

_He chuckled, “My whole life I have been called the God of Mischief. I think it’s about time I embraced that title.” It was about time he accepted that he was no longer the quiet man who stood off to the side and bit his tongue. He enjoyed the smartass comments. Besides it wasn’t all that changed. His hair had grown much longer since he had fallen through the wormhole and he seemed paler then he ever had._

_“You’re going to Earth to take over, but you won’t give Thanos the stones?”_

_“You know you have a knack for rehashing the obvious.”_

_“Loki,” she said annoyed. “He will hunt you down if you keep the stones away from him.”_

_“Probably. But I will be the one in possession of two Infinity Stones, not him.” He smirked, feeling the rush from his devilish plans of betrayal._

_Nebula just shook her head, either impressed or worried. “You…you…”_

_“Yes?”_

_She took a deep breath. “Don’t get yourself killed.”_

_He smirked. “You definitely will miss me, won’t you?” She didn’t answer him. She turned to leave and when she reached the door, she gave him one more look over, as if she was memorizing what he looked like to remember. That was the last time he saw the feisty blue girl._

_And in the end, she had been right about everything._

_…_

_Maybe he truly had wanted a chance to rule, to prove himself a good king. Maybe he had just wanted to lash out and his attack on Earth was nothing more than a childish act, seeking attention. But the truth was that Thanos had manipulated him to go down to Earth and attempt a takeover and the sad thing was it was easy. It was easy. He had failed and lost the war to “The Avengers” and was dragged back home by Thor. He could have told Thor or Odin or someone about what had happened on Thanos’s ship. The daily torture, always filled with fresh blood and agony. He should have told them about the stone that Thanos used to show him his purpose. They might have understood that he wasn’t completely in control of his actions._

_But he didn’t tell anyone. Not even his mother when she visited him via magic. The truth was he was still under the influence of the stone. He still believed that he was in the right and Odin was to blame for everything that happened. In his mind they never gave him a fair chance, so if they wanted a God of Mischief, they were going to get one._

_And then a guard came to him in his obnoxiously bright prison cell. He said four words, “Your mother is dead.” That cracked the spell. He was finally seeing things clearly. Nebula had been right, Thanos got into his head and turned him all around. His mother had been right, a true king should accept his mistakes. And stars above, had he made a lot of mistakes._

_And his mother._

_She was gone._

_The last words he had ever said to her were that she was not his mother. Stupid, idiot! Why had he been so cruel? Why had he been so weak to fall subject to Thanos’s mind games? Loki sat in his cell, hours after the guard had left, everything torn apart, all the gifts his mother had sent him to make him comfortable. The mirror was shattered, the furniture broken into pieces. He was probably a sight to see, his long hair was a frizzy mess and he was sitting amongst the scattered furniture. He just sat there against the wall wanting to curl up and scream. What was he to do now, but sit and promise to try to take responsibility for his actions. For the sake of his mother’s memory. The only person who had loved him no matter what he did._

_…_

_“Trust my rage,” he whispered, after Thor had turned around and walked back to the sleeping moral Jane Foster. They were coasting along in an Asguardian vessel in the dark world heading to confront the dark Elf, Malekith, and have the Aether removed from the mortal who had unknowingly absorbed the Infinity Stone in its raw form. This was also his chance to get revenge for his mother’s death._

_Thor abruptly spun around, apparently he heard him. The two brothers stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, both remembering what it had been like before they had drifted apart. Thor glanced down at the ground and cleared his throat. “We need a plan of attack,” he stated._

_“I’m not doing “Get Help”.”_

_Thor chuckled, “Fine, but we do need a well thought out plan.”_

_“Alright, give me a moment and I’ll think of something.”_

_“What makes you think that I wanted you to think up the plan all by yourself?”_

_“The last time you said we needed a battle plan you came up with “Get Help”. That is still by far the worse plan I have ever heard.”_

_“I already have a plan.”_

_“Oh dear.”_

_“Wait, hear me out.” Thor’s plan was for Loki to pretend to betray him and give Jane over to the Elves. That way the Aether could be pulled from her and then it would be exposed so that it could be destroyed. Well, it wasn’t worse than “Get Help”. “Maybe you can hurt me,” Thor continued. “To really sell your betrayal, you should injure me.”_

_“I could stab you.”_

_“Yes! Excellent! You always did like to stab me for some reason.” Loki chuckled finding Thor’s enthusiasm for being stabbed hilarious. “I’m not sure though. Stabbing me might not be enough.”_

_Loki smirked and sarcastically said, “Your hammer is an annoying weapon, maybe I could prevent you from using it by cutting off your hand.”_

_“That is a wonderful idea!”_

_Loki’s smile vanished. “What?”_

_“Well, you have your healing powers, right? You could heal me up as good as new.”_

_“Well, yes but-”_

_“But what?”_

_But Thor trusted him enough to actually heal him and not betray him to the Elves? Even after everything he had done? Why? He had no reason to and he had bluntly said that he no longer believed that the person Loki used to be was still inside him. He had picked up the habit of hiding his true feelings by being sarcastic or changing the subject completely and he didn’t want Thor to see him become emotional at his supposed trust. He swallowed. “But why would I want to waste my power on healing you? If there is a fight to be had, I need all of my strength.”_

_Thor nodded, but said, “You are capable with your dagger, brother.” That was the first time he had ever complemented him on his strengths. “Do what you wish, but promise me something?”_

_“What?”_

_“Don’t drain yourself too much and I want you to make sure Jane gets to safety if this doesn’t turn out the way we planned. And don’t try to be the hero.”_

_Loki was confused by that last one but he promised anyways._

_…_

_Somehow he had managed to break all three promises to Thor._

_Loki had stabbed Thor, kicked him around shouting lies left and right, and cut off his hand as requested. Poor Jane had no idea what was happening, but hopefully if they all made it out of this alive she wouldn’t slap both of them for not telling her the plan. The Aether was exposed and Thor shouted, “Loki, now!” With a flash of green he healed Thor of all injuries and even went the extra length in conjuring up the metal arm pieces of Thor’s armor. Well, so much for not draining himself._

_He protected Jane from the blast of lightning hitting the Aether and then again when he pushed her out of the way of an incoming grenade thrown by the giant Elf that had broken prisoners out of Asguard and had killed his mother. He then went about defeating a small group of Elves. It was easy, really. After he had cut the last one’s throat he saw Thor being beaten to a pulp by the giant Elf. He ran and grabbed one of the fallen Elf’s sharp spear. Well, so much for getting Jane Foster to safety._

_Loki ran up behind the giant Elf and drove the sharp spear through the monster’s back. He hadn’t even thought about his actions when he did it. He was just filled with this fear that he had to go and save Thor before the oaf got himself killed. He had to save the only person who was still alive who would give him a chance for redemption. The Elf slowly turned around, the spear sticking out of his bleeding chest. He growled at Loki and before Loki could think the Elf had grabbed him and forced the sharp blade through his own chest. He didn’t even scream, pain was an old friend. He managed to activate a grenade tied to the Elf’s hip before he threw Loki to the ground. “See you in hell, monster,” he said just before the grenade went off, imploding around the disgusting Elf until he had vanished. Their mother had been avenged even if it meant him getting hurt. Well, so much for not being the hero._

_He was too drained to heal himself of such a huge injury and much to his horror he felt cold. Freezing cold. He had never felt cold in his life. Stars above. He was going to die. Thor ran to him and dropped to his knees, pulling him closer to examine his wound. It hurt and he was shaking and gasping but this was nothing like the blinding pain he had felt on Thanos’s ship. When Thor didn’t see any magic being conjured up to save Loki, he shook his head understanding that he was drained._

_“Ah, you fool you didn’t listen.”_

_A truer statement had never been spoken. He hadn’t listened and broken every promise he had made on the vessel. But he did not care about that and that was not what filled him with stomach clenching regret and guilt. It was everything else. “I know. I’m a fool. I’m a fool.”_

_“Just stay with me, okay?”_

_“I’m sorry,” he said before repeating it. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Thor had to know that he truly was sorry for everything._

_“It’s okay.”_

_And those two words filled Loki with such an overwhelming peace. He could die now and be okay with it, because Thor had said that everything was okay. “I’ll tell father what you did here today.” Classic Thor always trying to bring their father into things that he had nothing to do with._

_Loki weakly shook his head. “I didn’t do it for him.” He hadn’t. He had not thought about Odin once, who was probably sitting on his throne making plans to send more warriors into a battle they had no hope of winning. He had done it for Thor, for his mother, and for himself. Everything started to become bleary. He had never thought that he would die in some wasteland with storm clouds brewing overhead in the arms of his brother._

_His eyes slipped shut and he was prepared for whatever awaited him on the other side._

_…_

_Surprise, surprise, he didn’t die. In fact he woke up all alone in a daze. The clouds were still in the sky and the wind was still blowing up a storm. How the hell was he still alive? He glanced down at his chest and saw the faint glow of his magic. He had been at death’s doors and probably had passed out and somehow his drained magic had just saved him in time. The wound was still there, scarring over, not as good as new as he was used to, but he was alive. Alive and abandoned in this terrible dark world._

_Thor had probably thought he was dead. Hell, Loki thought he was dead until this very moment. Well what to do now. He stayed where he was, slowly regaining his strength, healing the wound up, and his color going from deathly gray back to his pale complexion. Once he was sure that he was okay, he stood up and brushed himself off. Thor and Jane no doubt went after Malekith and the Aether. Now he was left in this dismal world to wander about and look for a way home._

_Home._

_He felt that he should go back to Asgard, he wasn’t sure why but he knew what he wanted to do so he would find a way off of this planet. He hid behind some boulders when he heard people talking. He worried that it was the Elves, but it was only a few Asgardian guards scouting around, probably looking for him and Thor. They had two ships. One had two guards standing by and the other one was off to the sidelines empty. He disguised himself as a guard and was able to walk down from his hiding spot and get on the empty ship without anybody stopping him. He flew away on the ship and went back through the secret way he had learned about to get back to Asgard._

_The plan formed in an instant and he knew that he would do it before it had been completely formed. He wanted to see if Odin would have cared if he had died. Maybe he did have daddy issues. But this was an opportunity that he could not pass up._

_…_

_“Forgive me, my liege,” he said in the guard’s voice as he approached Odin who was standing by his golden throne. “I’ve returned from the dark world with news.”_

_Odin wearily turned. “Thor?”_

_Loki shook his head. “There was no sign of Thor or the weapon, but…” He paused for dramatic effect and slowly stepped closer._

_Odin faced him completely now. “What?”_

_“We found a body.” That’s all he said. He wanted to see if Odin would figure it out, if he would care. He lowered his head like a good warrior would do when his king had lost a family member. If, of course, Odin still considered him family._

_Odin was silent for a moment and then said, “Loki.” It wasn’t a realization or an acknowledgment. Odin was saying his name because he knew it was him. Loki half smirked. Well that plan backfired on him. “What are you doing here?”_

_Loki transformed back to himself. “Honestly, I did not know why I wanted to come back here. I thought it was because I wanted to see how you would react to me being dead, but…now I see why I truly came back.” He stepped closer to the Allfather, who clenched his staff tightly._

_“To kill me?”_

_“No. To confront you.” Odin blinked his one eye in confusion. “My whole life you treated me as less than Thor’s equal. You made me feel like an outsider in my own home, my own kingdom. Even if I never found out that I was a Frost Giant, I still would have one day snapped like I did. And yes, I made some mistakes that I am taking responsibility for now, but how is what I did any different from what Thor did? He went to Jotunheim to kill every last Frost Giant, I went to Midgard to rule them. He got banished for a weekend and I got thrown in the dungeons with the knowledge that I would never see my mother again.” Loki couldn’t help but tear up at the thought of his mother. All he had wanted was to feel her embrace when he was locked up on Thanos’s ship and he never did because as soon as he got to Asgard he was locked up again._

_Odin glanced down. “I have made some mistakes along the way, but the decisions I make are always with the best intentions.”_

_Loki started laughing. “The best intentions? You threw Thor out like he was nothing, you locked me away to forget about your troubled son, and you sacrifice soldiers like they were chess pawns.”_

_Odin shook his head sadly. “I had hoped that one day, all would be forgiven and that the four of us would live again as a family.” The four of us. Odin, his mother, Thor, and himself. The thought made him long for it. He thought about the golden field and how happy they all used to be. Was it his fault that they were no longer together, that-that they were broken apart?_

_He didn’t know. He wiped the tears from his face and looked up at Odin. “Well, I guess we’ll never know, will we?” Odin was not fit to rule, he could finally see that. He hid secrets and lied all the time. “You are not worthy of your position.” Loki flicked his hand, Odin’s staff disappeared in a flash of green and reappeared in his hand. “You have betrayed your loved ones countless times. Over and over and over again. For this I say you should know what it feels like.”_

_He grabbed Odin by the shoulder and teleported them to the Bifrost in another flash of green. He created the illusion that nothing out of the ordinary was happening for the guards nearby. “Guards!” Odin shouted as Loki pulled him to the center of the Bifrost._

_He put the staff in the middle of the Bifrost and started it up. The electricity sizzled and cracked as it opened up and shot the rainbow white light towards Earth. “They can’t hear you.”_

_“What are you going to do to me, Loki?”_

_“I going to do what you did. I’m going to cast you out like you did to Thor and make you forget all about Asgard. And one day when you remember this place and who you are and what you’ve done, you will understand what it is like to be different and unaccepted.” He put his hand to Odin’s forehead and the old man collapsed to the ground. The spell erased his memories, but Loki had no doubt that Odin would eventually break it. He also stripped him of his powers and transformed his armor to Earthen clothes._

_Maybe he shouldn’t be doing this, but he felt in the right and he finally knew what his purpose was. His real purpose. He was born to be a king, but he had never wanted to rule. Now he could see that he had to rule to keep his promise to make his mother proud and to make up for everything he had done. He would be a good and just king, unlike Odin who was unfair and prejudiced. He wouldn’t take advantage of his power like rulers before. He would be the king that he had thought Odin had been when he was a child looking up to his father._

_And maybe, just maybe, he would finally get the attention that he had been denied for centuries._

_…_

_Well things did not go according to plan. At all. But despite being found out by Thor, falling through a portal for thirty minutes, their father dying, their unknown sister causing havoc, having to suck up to the idiotic Grandmaster, being shocked by one of those annoying disk things for fifteen minutes, and enacting Ragnarok, all was pretty well. He and Thor had worked together to save the people of Asgard and that’s what mattered. They were finally together again, brothers, side by side heading into an uncertain but hopefully bright future. Maybe towards one where he could forget about the pain and the bloody mistakes he had made._

_One filled with redemption._

_They were standing in Thor’s self-claimed captain’s quarters staring out the large window into the vastness of space. Loki was pleased that everything had ended the way it had but he had to bring up what was on his mind. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to go back to Earth?”_

_“Yes, of course. The people love me there.”_

_Did Loki really have to spell it out for the idiot? “Let me rephrase that. Do you really think it’s a good idea to bring me back to Earth?”_

_“No, probably not.” Well at least he was honest. “But, I believe everything will turn out alright, brother.”_

_Loki wasn’t happy with Thor’s decision and was about to open his mouth to argue the point, when a giant dark space ship flew into their view. It loomed above them and then right in front of them. Loki’s mouth fell open in shock and in horror. He had never thought he would see that horrible ship again. But here he was seeing it right in front of his eyes. Thanos’s ship._

_Stars above._

_…_

It all happened in a matter of seconds. 

Seven or eight seconds to be exact. 

Wanda saw and felt everything in a jumbled, yet understandable mess of information and emotions. This overload was nothing new to her. When she had been working for Ultron, she had entered the Avenger’s heads and seen their fears. But she had been more limited than this. So either she was more powerful now then what she was or Loki’s mind was just so _open_.

Probably the latter. It seemed that he spent so much time thinking about all the pain and mistakes and heartaches that it just radiated off of him in waves. Waves that someone like Wanda could come in and examine without hardly using any of her powers. And everything that she had examined shook her to her core.

All that pain, the regret, the deep and passionate longing for acceptance…it was enough to change her opinion of him. Because she hadn’t just been in his head for seven or eight seconds reading him, it was like she had been living his life.

She had been there learning magic, being an outcast, feeling the betrayal of Odin, being tortured by Thanos, talking with Nebula, fighting Thor, being stabbed, making the wrong choices, feeling the soft lure of redemption.

It was enough to make her gasp out loud and tear up. And unfortunately because of the intrusive and “lively” nature of her powers, he was dragged along for the ride, being forced to relive it all in his subconscious. So it was no surprise that when she left his mind completely, he snapped awake in a panic. The last memory she had seen had been that Thanos’s ship was coming. Of course he was in a panic. He thought he was still on the ship with his brother preparing for the inevitable fight.

What was surprising was when a dagger formed in his hand with a flash of green light and he sat up in a rush, pulling her by the neck close to him. She gasped again and saw how dangerously close the dagger was to her face and the fear stricken, tear laced emerald eyes of the man who she now felt a connection with.

“What the hell did you just do to me?” he whispered, his voice sounding strained.

She could hear the loud and concerned cries behind her coming from her teammates. They had no idea what was happening; as far as they knew she just had knelt next to Loki and had entered his mind. They didn’t know that she had gotten more than she had bargained for and that Loki was in the middle of a mild panic attack.

“Everyone freeze!” she shouted, hoping that would stop her teammates from overreacting. “I’m fine! I just surprised him that’s all.” She never stopped looking at those rich and haunting eyes of Loki’s. She spoke softly to him. “I didn’t mean to do… _that_ , I just-I’m sorry.” He glanced around wildly, trying to catch his bearings, trying to remember where he was. “You’re on the Quinjet with the remaining Avengers. We’re going to Wakanda because there we can destroy the stone in Vis’s head without killing him.”

His eyes shone in realization and his shoulders relaxed. He roughly let go of her, put the dagger away, and pressed the tips of his fingers against his temples. He let out a shaky breath. He would need a minute or two to calm back down.

Wanda decided to stay close, but she did turn her head to give an, it’s okay, look to the team before focusing all of her attention back on Loki. Rhodey was still piloting the plane and Bruce, surprisingly, was still asleep, but Vision, Steve, Natasha, and Sam all had that urgent and startled look on their faces. It was the look you got when you saw a threat or saw your friend being threatened. They were all close enough to know that if one of them was in trouble, the other ones would try to save him or her. To have friends like that meant a lot to her, but right now she needed them to dial back their heroic instincts so not to push Loki over the edge. “I’m fine,” she said again. Nobody made a move to get closer, but nobody’s suspicious looks went away either.

“I don’t know what you did to me,” Loki mumbled, pulling her attention back to him. “But don’t you ever do it again.”

She nodded. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I really didn’t mean to do that.”

“And what _did_ you mean to do?” He dropped his hands from his head only to glare at her. He was ticked off and rightfully so. She had been an intruder and had seen things that he had never told anyone else before. No doubt he was angry, as well as still slightly panicked.

But there was no point in trying to lie to the expert liar. “We wanted to see if you were telling the truth about being willing to help us fight against Thanos.”

His lips formed into thin lines. His hands balled into fists. “So, they sent you over to invade my mind.” It wasn’t a question, but a blanket statement. Wanda was holding tightly onto her powers to make sure they didn’t cause any more problems, but even then she could feel his growing, barely contained rage. “Do you trust me now? Hmm? Or do you wish to mock me now that you’ve seen _everything_?”

He stood up from where he was still sitting across the seats only to sit back down in the furthest away seat in that same row. He wanted to be alone, but in a small plane like this, that was kind of impossible. Wanda didn’t know what to do, besides stand up because her knees were starting to hurt from being bent for so long. Maybe if she left him alone he would be fine. 

Of course, that wasn’t what she was going to do. 

She slowly and attentively sat down next to him. He let out an annoyed sigh. She blinked her eyes several times in a sort of flusteredness and decided on the best words to say. “What I did was an accident, but why I was doing it was wrong and unfair. I see that now.” He turned to her, his eyes looking over her for any hint of mockery or sarcasm. “We all have been so judgmental and untrusting that I don’t think any of us thought that there was another side to you. And now that I’ve seen it, I want to get to know you better.”

Loki blinked and appeared either surprised or choked up. Or maybe it was both. He glanced away from her and nodded. “Well, um…that’s… Are you sure that’s what you really want? I, uh, I’m not exactly a good person.”

She shrugged. “Neither am I.”

He scoffed at that, sounding more like himself. “You? Really? You’re a part of the Earth’s mightiest heroes, _of course_ you’re a good person.”

“Oh, please! My twin brother, Pietro and I once helped a giant metal robot try and kill the Avengers.”

“…I’m sorry, what?”

“Well, you see, we had a vendetta against Tony Stark…” As Wanda started telling Loki her life story (it was only fair, after all, she had seen his entire life) she noticed that he had calmed down back to normal and seemed to open himself ever so slightly. Open himself up to the possibility that she truly wanted to give him a chance. That was good. Because she truly did. It was sad that it took her seeing his whole life to make her want to, but…it is what it is.

“So, you just agreed to be experimented on by the creepy Strucker guy?” he asked once she had gotten to the part of how she and Pietro had obtained their powers.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time. You know how that is.”

He nodded. “Point taken. So, Strucker used my scepter to give you and your brother powers and that’s how you got your impressive, but slightly annoying, telepathic powers.”

“Not just that.”

“Oh?”

She smiled a small mischievous smile. She lifted her hand and started bending her fingers to form her red energy or magic or whatever it was. Loki sat back and stared at the small see-through ball of energy that was going around her hand at her command. “Huh,” he said impressed. “Scarlet Witch…I get it now.”

“I’m not really sure what it is, but it allows me to control all different types of matter.”

“Telekinetic as well. May I?” He had his hand reached out for her’s. She nodded and put her hand in his open hand. He placed his other hand on top of her’s. She could just imagine what the others were thinking. Why was she holding hands with the terrible god man? Had she gone crazy? Well, for one she wasn’t holding hands, she was letting Loki feel her red energy because he was possibly the only person who knew exactly what it was. “It’s not magic. At least not the traditional type of magic or the harnessing type of magic.”

“What are those and what’s the difference?”

“Harnessing magic is when you use magic or energy from other realms to create spells and whatnot. Traditional magic is when you learn it, practice it, and it eventually becomes a part of you. It’s like training in sports. After you get the hang of it, you don’t just forget how to throw far or run in sprints. The only problem with that type of magic is that once you master it, it is really easy to use and to rely on, but…”

“It drains you.” Loki nodded. “Why does it do that?”

“Because traditional magic is like anything else. You run too long, your side hurts. You land on your ankle wrong, it rolls. Use too much magic, you get drained of all energy. And speaking of energy…” He let go of her hand. “I think your…scarlet powers are some sort of constantly regenerating energy that only you can conjure and control.”

Wanda looked at her hand, the energy still lingering around it. “Interesting.”

“Indeed. Who knew that the Mind Stone could be so powerful. It gave you and your brother fantastical abilities and powers your boyfriend.”

She chuckled, “If you knew how powerful it truly was, would you have tried to have kept it?”

Loki shrugged with a half-smile. “Maybe. But then I probably wouldn’t have met you or your Vision. And as you saw, I don’t really have a good history with that stone. But you were telling me about Strucker before I interrupted.”

“Right…” She continued telling him about how she and Pietro had met Ultron, the A.I. robot who thought that destroying the planet would bring about peace, and how they had tried to kill the Avengers before realizing that Ultron had to be stopped. They banned together with them and the newly created Vision to fight at the Battle of Sokovia against all of Ultron’s “minions” and saved the planet from its horrible fate.

“And then you joined the Avengers,” Loki finished before she could.

“Yes. They gave me a home and a chance to do something good with my life.”

“It’s a nice story. It would make a good TV special, it’s filled with emotion and sentiment.” He was being sarcastic. He did that when he was covering up his own emotions or just because he didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t the worst personality flaw. “Your brother join up, too?”

Wanda felt her light carefree mood drain away. She glanced down at her folded hands in her lap. “Pietro was killed by Ultron saving Clint Barton.”

Loki froze at that. “Oh.” Neither of them said anything for a while. Then Loki whispered, “Sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks. I…” she let out a deep breath and wiped the tears away from her eyes. “I’ve learned to cope. But, you know.” He nodded, with understanding. “I guess that’s something we have in common. Brothers dying to protect others from power-hungry jackasses.”

Loki sighed, suddenly sounding tired again. “I suppose so.”

The silence before was uncomfortable, filled with the horrible aching loss, but now that feeling was only a shadow of what it had been and now the silence was filled with something much more tricky and dangerous then loss: hope. Hope for the future and hope for new friendships. Wanda hoped that one day, she could say that these events on the Quinjet flying to Wakanda were the foundation to her friendship with Loki. Loki just hoped that he didn’t ruin this chance he was being given by this odd and powerful girl.  
“You seem tired,” she said, changing subjects and dragging them both out of their thoughts. “You should try to sleep again. Regain all of your strength.”

“Yeah, alright. No messing with my head this time.”

“Of course not!”

“Just kidding,” he said with a smirk. He didn’t lay back down on the seats, but rather just laid his head against the back of the seat he was currently in and closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost immediately afterwards.

She decided that she was ready to get up and stretch her legs. She would tell the others that it was okay to trust Loki. She stood up and turned and saw that Vision, Steve, Natasha, and Sam were still standing in the same places that they had been when they jumped up to intervene. “Oh, please tell me you four were not just standing there the whole time.”

Sam shrugged, “I wanted to see what would happen next. I don’t know what everyone else’s excuse is.”

Wanda glared at him and stepped closer to the others. They all migrated closer to the cockpit and the science nook, so they wouldn’t disturb the sleeping Bruce and now Loki. 

Rhodey looked over his shoulder at them. “So what in the hell were you and Loki talking about for so long? I couldn’t hear.”

“I told you, man,” Sam told Rhodey, “you shoulda put the plane on autopilot and joined us in listening in.”

Natasha crossed her arms and glared at the two men. They both shut up. The former assassin then rounded on Wanda. “So you’re best friends with the God of Death and Destruction now?”

Wanda took a deep breath and prepared for the numerous objections. “You may not like this, but I think we can trust him.”

“You’re joking, right?” Sam chuckled. Wanda hardened her gaze at him. He stopped chuckling. “She ain’t joking.”

“Wanda,” Steve said in his “voice of reason” tone. “I know that you and Loki…had a moment there or whatever, but you were only in his head for a few seconds. Was that really enough time to-”

“Believe me, it was _more_ than enough time. And he’s not what you think.”

“Oh really?” Natasha scoffed. “Cause, I think he’s the creep who tried to kill everyone five years ago.”

“Yeah well, you weren’t in his head like I was!” she said a bit more loudly then she had planned on. She closed her eyes; there had to be a way to make them understand. “He’s was hurting and vulnerable when Thanos found him. And from what I saw, it didn’t take too much to break him and order him to do Thanos’s will.”

“What are you saying?” Rhodey asked shaking his head. “That he _didn’t_ want to attack New York?”

“Yes-no. I-it’s complicated. The point is he did some bad and regrettable things, but he is trying to make up for it.”

“By being a sarcastic asshole?” Natasha quipped.

“It’s his coping devise.”

“I agree with Wanda,” Vision said. It was the first time he had spoken since she had come back over and to hear him agree with her, made her smile. Of course she shouldn’t have been so surprised, he seemed willing to trust Loki before she had even gone into his head.

“Big surprise,” Sam mumbled. “She’s your girlfriend, of course you’ll pick her side.”

“Not to mention the “God” did one non-selfish thing by healing him,” Rhodey added.

Vision ignored the comments by the two men and instead attempted to make his point. “If Loki were a threat to us, he would’ve already made a move. And the fact that this Thanos is responsible for the death of Thor makes him want revenge against him and the only way to do that is by helping us.”

Natasha shook her head, not buying it. “Loki is a master at manipulation. I’ve seen it first-hand. What he did to Clint, to Selvig. And he had no problem trying to kill Thor before, what would change him so drastically that he would actually care.”

Wanda had tons of respect for Natasha Romanoff, but right now she was finding her stubbornness to not only be problematic but also annoying as hell. “Losing their parents brought the two brothers back together. They helped save the people of their world. _Together_. If you don’t believe me, ask Banner, he was there.”

“Even if all of this is true, am I the only one who has a problem with accepting help from a former super-villain?” Sam asked.

Wanda was also getting tired of Sam’s comments. “Yes, because the Avengers have _never_ fought alongside with the people who once wanted to kill them.” She had said it with a bitter bite to it because this whole thing was making her mad. She had just told Loki the story of how she had once wanted the Avengers dead at her and Pietro’s feet and yet she had been given a second chance. Now these people weren’t even giving Loki the same consideration that they had for her. 

Vision softly looked at Wanda with deep understanding and followed her example. “Or with devices that were originally made to eradicate the entire human species.”

That was true, too. Everyone onboard knew that Vision was originally going to be Ultron’s ultimate form, or at the very least his “child”. And they all gave him a chance to prove himself to be trustful, and why? Just because he could lift that stupid hammer?

“You both make valid points,” Rhodey said trying to be sensitive. “But I’m sorry, I still don’t trust the guy on anything other than on face value.”

Natasha nodded her head in agreement. Wanda sighed and glanced at Vision. Were they in the minority in this? Sam was watching Steve and asked, “Cap, you alright? You haven’t said anything in a while.”

Steve stood against the desk, deep in thought. “I was just thinking about why the Avengers broke up.” Everyone turned around to look at the tired and weary soldier, wondering where he was going with this. “The Avengers broke up not only because of the Accords but because half of us were willing to protect a man who the rest of the world had condemned as a killer…”

Bucky Barnes.

Steve didn’t even have to say his old friend’s name, everyone onboard knew who he was talking about. Wanda had never thought about it, but Loki and Bucky were very similar as they both had done some terrible actions that they both desperately wanted to take back. And Steve was right. If they could trust Bucky, who had been brainwashed for years on end and assassinated hundreds, why not Loki? 

“I don’t know what you saw,” he looked up at Wanda, “but you know more than any of us, so if you say we can trust him, then I will try my hardest.”

After hearing the Captain say that, Wanda smiled feeling like a huge battle had been won. Vision stepped next to her and grabbed her hand; he smiled too. Rhodey and Sam gave each other a look and shrugged not exactly happy about Steve’s decision but ultimately nodded that they would try, too. Natasha bit her bottom lip and agreed to trust him only as long as the threat of Thanos was around.

Well, that was a start.

Steve addressed the group once more because he could tell that half of them didn’t like this. “Some of us will have issues trusting Loki right away, I can about guarantee that, but if that’s the case I think we should _just_ do what he asked us to do.” He looked from person to person to make his point very clear. “Don’t trust him, trust his rage.”

Wanda had always liked Captain Rogers.

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

_Author’s Note: If you couldn’t tell, I don’t really like Odin. And also I’m heartless for putting Loki through so much pain, but… I promise, next chapter Loki will meet the Black Panther group and Bucky Barnes. I’m sorry if this chapter feels more like filler or like a chapter to just explain the past, but I felt it was necessary to show someone other than Bruce (and Vision) start to trust Loki. And also I wanted to do the flashbacks. So, I figured if Wanda went into his head and saw everything and started to understand him, I could kill two birds with one stone. (One Infinity Stone! Ha! See what I did there? No? Okay, I’ll leave…)_

_I’m sorry if it’s like I’m making Natasha the bad guy here for not wanting to trust Loki, but I figured out of all of the remaining Avengers, she would have the most issues with Loki being back. Never fear, she will be redeemed in future chapters._

_One other thing is that I am writing this story without a beta reader and I try to proof read it for mistakes, but I can’t catch them all. So if anyone catches a misspelling or grammatical error or anything like that, please tell me so I can fix it. Thanks._

_Bye!_


	5. Chapter Four: The Humans Continue to Impress

Someone was tapping him on the shoulder. “Loki? Wake up, we’re almost here.” That was Wanda.

_We’re almost there?_

Loki felt as if he had just fallen back into that deep and restful sleep that he had been in before he had been literally yanked out of his sleep and was forced to relive the hurtful past. He wasn’t holding a grudge for what happened against Wanda, quite the opposite actually. He had silently forgiven her. But it still was an experience that had shaken him to his core and had left him fuming at The Avengers and their lack of trust. On the other hand, now that there was another living person who seemed to understand him or at least wanted to try and understand him, he decided that he would have relived through it all again and dealt with the Earth’s mightiest heroes in order to just get to this point.

“What if I don’t want to wake up?” he mumbled, rubbing his closed eyes.

“Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that I make you get up.”

He heard the playfulness in her tone and chuckled, “You wouldn’t use your powers like that on me after what happened so recently.” He opened his eyes. She was just off to his left, her arms crossed and she smirked slightly.

“True. But when I said I’d make you get up, I meant by continuously pestering you.”

“Oh. Oops.” He sat himself up right in the chair and stretched his arms over his head. He could feel that his magic was back up to its full capacity.

_It was about time, too._

He sat forward and waved his hand over his horrible looking cut on the side of his head and it healed up with his trademark flash of green shimmering magic. He ran his fingers across where the scaring cut had been and felt the newly healed and smooth skin. “All rested up I see,” Vision said from somewhere behind Wanda. “Good, now you’re ready for the possible battle.”

Loki stood up from his seat, Wanda took a step backwards to get out of his way. Rhodey and Sam were still in the cockpit piloting the Quinjet, the dear Captain was still hovering by them, Bruce was awake and seated next to Natasha in the other row of seats, and Vision was by the science nook. Loki glanced at the red android and said, “Believe me, the battle is not a possibility, but an inevitability.” He walked up to the cockpit, next to Steve, to see this so-called most technological advanced city in the world. Instead, he saw that they were heading for a bunch of large full green trees. “Um, I don’t mean to ask a potently dumb question, but why are we about to crash into some trees?”

“Actually, I was wondering that myself,” Rhodey said, glancing at Steve over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” Steve said. “The coordinates I gave you are right. Just keep going straight ahead.” 

Rhodey muttered, “Okay.” He kept on course and when they should have crashed into the trees, they passed right through them and several layers of bouncing reflecting light. “That was a holograph?”

Steve smiled, “Yeah. The Wakandans recently opened up their country to outsiders, but they still like their privacy.”

Wakanda was just beyond the holograph slash protective barrier: It was a beautiful and built up city that had towering sleek colored buildings and monorail like devises connecting them to each other. Hovercrafts flew through the air and close to the ground as a means of transportation. There was also a lot of open space to each direction of the main city, mostly yellow grassed fields with some wooded areas, but there was also a snowy mountain range off to the East. This place was like a whole other world in comparison to the other massive cities of Earth. And the whole place left Loki speechless.

Like seriously.

He had been to many different planets and realms during his lifetime and they all had their own unique quality to them that made them special, but the one thing that they all had in common was constancy. All of Asgard was elegant and golden. All of Jotunheim was frozen and barren. All of Sakaar was crazy and filled with trash. But now he could say that Midgard, Earth, was different. All the cities he had previously seen, seemed identical with their simplest architecture and overuse of big clear glass windows. But Wakanda… This place truly looked like they had landed on a different world altogether.

And that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

They flew down closer to a large black and gray sleek building where a tall and strong African man wearing black robes with silver and white embroidery along the collar stood with a small group of fierce looking bald African women who were all holding spears. Well this just kept getting better and better. Rhodey called out, “Prepare for landing.” The people already not sitting took their seats and held on as the Quinjet slowly and vertically landed on a landing pad. Rhodey flipped a few switches, the engines powered down, and the ramp opened up and humid heat spilled into the plane.

So far, that was his only problem with Wakanda, its location. Being in Africa, one of the hottest continents on Earth, meant warmer weather and he had never liked the heat.  
The dear Captain exited the plane first, followed by Natasha and Sam. The three of them greeted the man in the fancy robes, who smiled warmly at them. Obviously they all knew each other from some place. Maybe the robed man was a part-time Avenger. Vision and Wanda stepped out together and joined the other three. Bruce waited for Rhodey to finish up turning off the plane and doing whatever else it was he was doing and then they left. “Coming?” Bruce asked Loki as he walked by with Rhodey at his side. Loki hesitated. 

Bruce noticed. “Problem?”

Loki shook his head. “No. It’s nothing, I just…”

“Yeah?”

“I already went through the tiring hassle of gaining the other’s trusts or partial trusts several times today.” He took a deep breath and said quietly, “And now I have to do it again.”

Bruce stepped back on the plane. “Look, Rhodey and Sam messaged ahead before we even left. We don’t have to explain anything or ourselves. I think they won’t question your being here or whether you’re trustful. And even if they do, who cares. They can just deal with it.”

Loki half smiled. He was really starting to like Bruce. “Alright, then. Let’s not keep them waiting.” They both got off of the plane and joined Rhodey, who had waited for Bruce, in walking across the concrete bridge that connected to the landing pad. Loki motioned to the robed man and asked Bruce, “So, who’s that then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who are the women who all look like they could kill me without even trying around him?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Rhodey sighed, “The guy is King T’Challa also known as the Black Panther. He rules the place.”

“He’s a king?” Bruce whispered as they were just about to reach the small group.

“Yeah.”

“S-should I, uh, bow or something?”

Rhodey shook his head and said with a hint of mischief, “Oh yeah, definitely.”

Bruce was about to bow when Loki stopped him. “I think your friend was just playing with you. Don’t bow.” Bruce turned to Rhodey who glared at Loki like a child does when their fun is spoiled. Loki shrugged. “I’m the God of Mischief, I can tell the difference between sincerity and trickery.”

The robed man, T’Challa, chuckled apparently having heard what happened. “He is right. There is no need to bow here,” he said in a thick accent, almost thicker than Wanda’s.

“Sorry,” Bruce said.

T’Challa smiled and softly shook his head. “There is also no need to apologize.” He then turned his attention back to the rest of the group, specifically Vision. “My sister, Shuri, waits for us in her lab. When I told her of your plans to remove the stone from your head, she was positively ecstatic.”

“Really?” Vision said slightly confused.

T’Challa chuckled again. “What can I say? My sister loves a challenge. Come.” He motioned for everyone to follow him as he and, as Loki realized them to be, his female body guards walked towards the black and gray building they were standing next to.

The dear Captain walked side by side with possibly the kindest king Loki had ever seen. “Thank you again for this. I realize that this is inconvenient for you and it puts your people at risk.”

“Do not worry, Captain Rogers. General Okoye and the heads of the five tribes have gotten all the civilians to safety.”

“Good. _Good_ , I don’t want to cause any more of a problem then I already have.”

If the situation had been different and a mad Titan wasn’t going to be coming who knew when, Loki would have loved to know what the dear Captain had done and what had changed him so drastically from the order following Boy Scout to this jaded, tired man. T’Challa continued, “You will have the full support of the five tribes’ warriors, the Dora Milaje, and of course myself.”

“And a semi-stable hundred year old man,” a muscular man said walking towards them. He had long shaggy brown hair and a beard similar to Steve’s. Most interesting of all, he had a metal arm that was painted black and gold.

The weary Captain smiled and stepped forward to the man. He patted him on the back. “How are you, man?”

“Oh, for the end of the world pretty good,” he chuckled.

Loki softly asked Bruce, “Now who’s he?”

Bruce half-glared at the trickster. “Will you stop asking the guy who has no clue what’s happening either, who people are.”

“Alright, you had a more restful sleep then I did. You have no excuse for being crabby.”

Wanda turned around. “His name is Bucky Barnes. He’s an old war buddy to Steve.”

“War buddy?”

“Yes.” 

“A war buddy from your second world war that the dear Captain fought in before being frozen in a block of ice for almost seventy years?”

“Yeah. He was given a serum similar to Steve’s.”

Huh. The humans really did continue to impress him. Just when he had thought he had seen everything that Midguard had to offer he met someone new or went to a beautiful otherworldly place like Wakanda.

_Oh dear._

He _was_ impressed by Wakanda and he had made that bet with the dear Captain. Oh well. Guess he would just have to pay him. King T’Challa led them all into the building with its silver metal fancy interiors, Steve and this Bucky person were directly behind him catching up, while Natasha and Sam were close behind them. Rhodey had stepped up ahead and was now walking with Vision, while Wanda had stayed behind to walk with Loki and Bruce. “Hey, Bruce,” he started, “Do you have ten dollars? Preferably Midgardian currency.”

“What?”

“I made that bet with the dear Captain on the plane and what can I say, I’m impressed.” He truly was. They were walking through shiny corridors with electric blue screens on the walls flashing white text in a language he didn’t know. How could he not be impressed?

“Well, that’s great, but I don’t have ten dollars,” Bruce said as they all walked up a series of inclined planes. They were meant to replace stairs.

“What? Oh, sure you do. You had to pay our annoying taxi driver.”

“Yeah, I did with a credit card that I found in the pants pocket. I think it was that Dr. Strange’s.”

“Oh…Hey Wanda-”

“Here’s an idea,” she interrupted. “Can’t you just wave your hand around and make a ten dollar bill appear?”

Loki opened his mouth and then realized how simple that was. Stars, he was not in his right mind set at all lately. He was just overthinking things. “Huh. Sometimes the easiest solution is so obvious that it is blinding.” Wanda laughed at him and shook her head. They were up several stories in the building when they walked into a large and open room with a huge window looking out to the yellow fields and wooded area. There was a light gray table in the middle of the room with the same elegant craftsmanship as the rest of the city. There was a see-through screen connected to the side of the table and there were what looked like devises that could create lasers just over head. A young teenage African girl with her hair in several tiny braids was sitting in a tall spiny chair looking bored until she saw everyone enter the room.

“Ah, good! You _finally_ arrived! I thought you would never get here,” she said jumping from the chair and running to the table.

T’Challa frowned. “Shuri, patience is a virtue that you would do well to learn.”

The girl, Shuri, rolled her eyes. “Way to sound like an original philosopher, brother. Patience is a virtue. How did you ever come up with it?” T’Challa continued frowning and didn’t answer. Shuri chuckled at her brother’s sternness. “Fine. Now we shall begin. Mr. Vision, if you would,” she motioned to the table.

Vision sat on the table and then laid down on it. Shuri pulled the screen closer to her and then waved her wrist over the Vision’s forehead. She was wearing what appeared to be a big beaded bracelet, but when she had waved it over Vision they lit up in a blue hue. She turned her hand over and an enhanced holograph imagine of the Mind Stone and all of its internal connections to the machinery that was Vision, was projected from the beads. “It appears that the stone is directly connected to all of his internal wiring,” Shuri muttered more to herself.

Bruce stepped up next to the table. “Well, yes. You see it was the only way to get the stone to effectively power him.”

Shuri shook her head. “Not if you had connected each individual wire to themselves after the stone had been placed in his head for several weeks. It would have been long enough for all the other systems to have learned from each other and know how to mimic the power of the stone.”

Bruce just stared at her, impressed that the girl was _this_ smart and also because he couldn’t believe that he and Stark hadn’t thought about that. “Well, hmm. I, uh, guess we never thought about it.”

Shuri chuckled, “Yes, I see.” She taped the beads to the side of the clear screen and the holograph then appeared on the screen. “I can reconnect the internal wires in his head to each other using these.” She pointed at the devises overhead. “Then the stone can safely be removed. Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Loki said. “Why is the child the smartest out of all of you?” And he hadn’t meant out of the Wakandans or even out of the people in the room, he had meant out of all the Midgardians he had ever met.

Shuri smiled. “Believe me, I’ve been asking myself that same question for a long time.”

T’Challa rolled his eyes at his sister and turned to the group of bald women. “Make sure the city is completely evacuated like we discussed.” He turned to Steve and pointed at him. “And get this man a shield.” The group nodded, half of them left the room and the other half waited for Steve. “Shuri took the time to design you a new shield in case you ever came back.”

“Yeah,” Shuri said examining the screen again. “The days here can be ridiculously long and boring, so I just keep updating things to make the time go faster.”

“ _Anyways_ ,” T’Challa said, “we have your new shield and some old armor that used to belong to Mr. Stark that I thought maybe one of you would be interested in.”

“Which armor is it?” Rhodey asked crossing his arms.

“I believe it was called the “Hulk Buster”.”

“Hulk Buster?” Loki asked looking to Bruce.

“Well, yeah. Tony and I designed it to ah… _stabilize_ the Hulk if he ever got out-out of control.”

“Over protection as Stark’s biggest personality flaw. Yup, I’m seeing it now.”

Bruce smirked and looked back at T’Challa. “You know, I have been having an issue with Hulk lately so maybe I could take a look at the suit.”

T’Challa nodded. “Be my guest.”

Bruce walked towards the other smaller group of bald women, Natasha close behind. “I’ll come, too. We can continue to catch up. Rhodey you want to come?”

Rhodey shrugged. “Sure why not. Maybe together the three of us can figure out how to get Bruce into the giant piece of metal.”

Bruce glanced over his shoulder at Loki. “You coming?”

“Oh no. I want to see how all of this,” he waved his arms around the science stuff, “works. You can go on without me.”

Natasha spun around and had a, this is not a good idea, look written all over her face. What was she afraid of? Perhaps, she felt that she had to keep an eye on him since his “shadow” was now his friend. And speaking of his shadow, Wanda said, “It’s all good.”

Natasha let out a deep breath, shook her head, and said in a tone to try and convince herself, “Trust his rage, not him.” She took in a deep breath. “Fine. Come on Bruce, let’s go.” Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey all turned to leave being led out by the group of bald women, but a few stayed behind to escort Steve to get his shield once he decided to leave.

And before Steve left he stepped up next to Wanda. “No matter what happens, I want you to stay by Vision’s side and be ready to destroy the stone the second it comes out.” 

Wanda nodded, “Aye aye, Captain.”

Steve chuckled and turned to leave, Sam and Bucky right behind him. Then Loki remembered the bet. “Oh, wait!” Steve stopped and turned back. Loki took a step forward and twisted his hand; a ten dollar bill appearing in a flash of green and he extended it to Steve.

Shuri exclaimed, “Whoa! That’s some tech I’ve never seen before!” Of course, the science ordinated girl would explain away his magic as a technology based phenomenon.

Bucky blinked in confusion and turned to Sam, “How _did_ he do that?”

Sam shrugged, “Well, he’s a God-”

“What?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Steve smirked slightly and took the money from Loki. He then left with the bald women. As the group was leaving, Loki could hear Bucky say to Sam, “And here I thought I’d seen everything.”

Loki called out to him, “Yeah, me too. That’s why I lost the bet.” Wanda chuckled. “Oh shush.”

“So, what was the bet?” Shuri asked as she powered up the laser devises and checked the statistics on her screen.

“Oh it was nothing-”

“Captain Rogers said that Wakanda might just impress Loki, which he said that he very much doubted that and then the Captain bet him ten dollars that he was wrong,” Vision said from where he was laying on the table. Loki and Wanda both gave Vision a look. “What?”

Loki rolled his eyes and started walking closer to the large window. “Wanda, your Vision remembers everything too well.”

“It’s what makes him, _him_ ,” Wanda said, softly smiling at Vision. 

Shuri smiled and said to Loki, “So, you are impressed by Wakanda if you gave Captain Rogers the money.”

“Yes.” He was now standing directly in front of the window. He could see everything from the city below, to the rocky snow caped mountains to the East. “This place has been around for years then?”

T’Challa answered, “For centuries.”

For centuries?

“Huh. And to think all this time I thought Midgardians were technologically challenged. Congratulations on the big break through.”

T’Challa blinked a few times, not sure if that was a compliment or not. “…Thank you?”

Wanda sighed, “ _Loki_.”

“What?” He turned back to face her. “It was a compliment.”

“Compliments do not offend people.”

“There is just no pleasing you.” He walked to the tall spiny chair that Shuri had been sitting in when they had entered the room and sat down on it. Shuri was continuing to prepare for the procedure, moving the screen, enhancing the holograph imagine, and getting the lasers closer to Vision’s head. Wanda stood next to Vision, holding his hand, being the good girlfriend that she was. T’Challa walked around by his sister to watch her process. Loki observed that T’Challa was quite young to be a king. He could only be about thirty or so years old. “So, do you enjoy ruling?” he asked him.

T’Challa shook his head thinking. “I spent most of my life training to be the protector of Wakanda and to one day be its king. I enjoy being with the people and protecting them is an honor that I would never give up, but the politics are a burden that I would not wish on anyone.”

Loki nodded, “Understandable. Royalty is so tedious.”

T’Challa chuckled in agreement. He left his sister’s side and walked closer towards Loki. “I am to understand that you are the brother of Thor.”

“Step-brother, but yes.”

“And that Thor was the son of the ruler of your world. You must really have an understanding of the responsibility that the throne demands.”

“Of course.”

Wanda jumped in with, “Oh, speaking of which-”

“Don’t say it,” Loki said.

Wanda ignored him. “Loki spent time as the King of Asgard for a while.”

“And you said it,” he muttered.

“Really?” T’Challa said interested.

“Well, yeah. But let’s not talk about-”

“I want to hear about it!” Shuri exclaimed, genuinely wanting to know.

Loki sighed, “What’s to say? I took over when Thor got himself banished for a weekend and our fath-the king, Odin, fell into the Odinsleep.”

“What’s that?” Shuri asked.

“It’s this period of time where he had to rest and regain all of his strength. But anyways, I took over again for a couple of years when Odin was no longer worthy of his position and-” It was then that Loki noticed that one of the tall and fierce looking bald women was still in the room off to his right, staring him down. She was dressed in, what he assumed was, a traditional warrior’s uniform that was all orange and gold. Odd colors to put together. She was holding a spear like the other women had been, but unlike the other women she had some sort of tattoo on the scalp of her head. Maybe it was to single out her importance, he didn’t know. All he did know was that she was staring him down with a semi-threatening stare. “Hello,” he said waving at her.

She didn’t answer.

T’Challa stepped closer and chuckled, “Don’t mind her. General Okoye is just protective of me that is all. So, your father was not worthy of his position.”

Loki turned away from the fierce woman back to the kind king. “I suppose he was worthy, I just…”

“Fathers can be difficult and complicated people,” T’Challa softly said.

“Understatement of the year.”

“My own was…” he trailed off, suddenly appearing sad. “Well, I think I understand how you must have felt.”

Loki couldn’t help but scoff at that statement. “Really? Odin literally waited until he was minutes from death to tell Thor and I that we had an older evil sister, who wanted to take over Asgard and destroy everything. You understand what that is like?”

T’Challa took in a deep breath and did not appear anything other than calm as he walked past Loki and to the large window. He stood in the same place that Loki had been in a few minutes ago and he stared out of the window in a sort of trance. “My father killed his own brother,” he started, “and he knew that he had a son, but he abandoned him. Years later this boy, my cousin, came to Wakanda wanting to take it over and destroy everything.”

Loki felt like a jerk. “Oh…I guess you _do_ understand.” He hesitated, not really knowing what to say next. “Well, um, things must have gone okay with your cousin because you’re still king.”

T’Challa smiled sadly. “We prevented a worldwide onslaught but we still lost blood.” Loki knew how that felt. Boy did he. “And what about your sister? All went well with that?”

“Um, sort of. In order to defeat our sister we needed to enact Ragnarok, which was this prophecy about the end of all days on Asgard. So Thor, I, and some others saved the people of Asguard just before it was completely destroyed.”

T’Challa turned in surprise. Shuri exclaimed, “What?! So your planet or whatever, what? Is gone?”

“Yes. We…we were heading for Earth before Thanos came and…” He didn’t want to give another account of the story that had only happened several hours ago. That had only been hours ago and it almost felt like a lifetime ago.

_Stars, it was funny how time flew by and at the same time it just inched forward._

“Did anyone else survive the attack?” T’Challa asked.

“We managed to get most of the Asgardians into space pods and send them out into space. I assume that they all are alive, I…I just don’t know where they are.” It was ironic, he wasn’t even an Asgardian, but if all of the people that he had helped save were lost forever, he would feel like the last of his people. _His_ people. Just like he was the last of his family.

“I’m sure they will be fine,” Wanda said, as if she knew what he was thinking (she probably did). “They just need to find their way to Earth, that’s all.” He tried to take comfort in her words, but he couldn’t shake the pessimistic feeling that his bad luck would not give him a break. The people of Asgard were essentially all he had left and if they were gone too…what else would he have? A few friends, maybe? But how long until he messed it all up like he usually seemed to do?

“The Asgardians are refugees,” T’Challa stated, breaking Loki out of his dismal thoughts. “Do they have a place to go?”

“Um, ah…Thor and I never really discussed it. He just said, “Let’s go to Earth” and I had so many problems with that and then…” he waved his hands around trying to find the right word but failed, “Yeah. Now we’re here. Why?”

T’Challa shrugged. “You may know that Wakanda recently opened up its boarders to outsiders and if the Asguardians had nowhere else to go, I would being willing to take them all in when they arrive on Earth.”

“That…that’s…” Loki was speechless. T’Challa probably knew who he was and what he had done in the past and yet he was just able to move on and make such a generous offer like that. “Thank you, I don’t know…what to say.” T’Challa smiled at him and then something behind Loki must of caught his eye because he looked passed him. Loki turned around in his chair and saw that General Okoye was standing several feet behind him. “When did she move?” he asked no one in practical.

“When you asked King T’Challa if he could really understand how you felt about your father,” Vision answered from the table.

Loki eyed the General with fascination because there were only a handful of people who could sneak up on him. She was still just staring him down. “And what are you a general of?” he asked. Again she didn’t answer.

T’Challa said, “She is the General of the Dora Milaje. It is an all-female group of warriors who are bound to protect the crown.”

“Does she ever speak?” Loki asked sarcastically.

“When she wants to,” Okoye said in a firm tone.

Loki chuckled, “You and Valkyrie would get along wonderfully.”

“Who’s that?” Shuri asked.

“The Valkyrie were an all-female elite who were by far the fiercest warriors in Asgard. A woman named Brunnhilde, who just goes by the name “Valkyrie”, helped Thor and I save the people of Asgard. She doesn’t like me much either.”

“You are correct in your assumption that we would get along,” Okoye said with a smile.

Loki turned back to T’Challa. “Why do I get the feeling that she wants me to leave?”

T’Challa opened his mouth, but Okoye interrupted, “Because she does.”

Loki chuckled and stood up from his chair. “Alright, fine. You probably want to talk to your king about his questionable decisions and I should go and find Bruce anyways. Put Agent Romanoff’s mind at ease that I’m not going to blow something up or whatever.” He nodded to T’Challa who nodded back at him.

Shuri crossed her arms disappointed. “But I thought you wanted to see how the science stuff works.”

Loki walked over to the table where Wanda still stood by Vision. “You are going to use the lasers to reconnect the wires and you control the lasers by touching the holograph on the screen.”

Shuri beamed and said, “You are a clever man.”

“Thank you, I know.” Wanda hit him on the arm. “It was a _joke_.”

Wanda tilted her head to the side, not believing that but then she said, “You sure you want to leave?”

“Oh, yes. You and your Vision will be fine. I should get ready for the oncoming battle anyways. And the General keeps staring me down, so…” He stepped away from the table and Wanda. “I’ll see you later, alright?”

“Okay,” Wanda said.

“Where did those women take Bruce and the other two?”

“The garden,” T’Challa answered.

“And where’s that? Never mind, I’ll figure it out.” And with that he left the room.

T’Challa turned to Okoye. “Do you have a problem with my decisions, General?”

“You know that man is pretty perceptive,” she said in reference to Loki.

“ _Okoye_.”

“You wanting to help his people, I understand. But you seem to have forgotten what he himself has done.”

“I have forgotten nothing, I just choose to accept all the help that is available. And what can I say, he has a quality that I can respect.”

Shuri cut in with, “And he has the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.”

“What?” Okoye said turning to the princess.

“Yes, what?” T’Challa asked, slightly concerned.

Shuri shrugged, “He’s cute.” Okoye and T’Challa both shared a look. “What, he is! The tall, mysterious, anti-hero types are all the rage nowadays. And he complemented me.”

T’Challa shook his head in disbelief. “Oh, Shuri.”

“Oh, Shuri, what? You just said you respected him.”

“Yes, but there is a difference between respecting a man and being okay with your teenage sister having a crush on that same man.”

Shuri shrugged again. “I don’t know. We’re both royalty, we could combine kingdoms!”

T’Challa rubbed his head, feeling a headache approaching. “Oh dear.” The king took a deep breath and said, “Shuri start working on removing the stone and turn all the communication systems on.”

“I just did and I am ready to start working.” The laser devises inched closer to Vision’s forehead.

“Good. Miss Maximoff you will stay here on standby just as the Captain asked?” She nodded. “Good. General, you and I should prepare ourselves for the oncoming battle as well. Best of luck to all of us.” T’Challa walked out of the room, General Okoye close on his heels.

Shuri sighed and looked down at Vision, “Okay. So you will feel some slight discomfort and this will all go better if you try not to move.” 

Vision nodded and glanced at Wanda and smiled. “Best of luck to us, indeed.”

…

Loki hadn’t gone searching for the garden where Bruce, Natasha, and Rhodey were in with this Hulk Buster suit. It wasn’t that he wasn’t fascinated by this suit and wanted to see it or to talk with Bruce, but he just needed a minute to sit alone. To prepare himself emotionally for the battle that was going to come. No doubt some members of the Black Order would come for the stone, but possibly Thanos himself. He wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with seeing the mad Titan again so soon.

He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t do something stupid when he saw him.

Loki remembered being on their ship and Thanos grabbing Thor by the head and torturing him with Power Stone. He remembered how Thor had screamed. Was that how he had screamed when the Mind Stone was pressed to his temple? Was that how Thor had died? In blinding agony? He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t afford to get swept up in the river that was his emotions right now. But he decided that more than likely he would end up doing something stupid.

He was sitting on the marble stairs that were off to the right just outside the black and gray sleek building he had just come out of. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the steps, just trying to put his mind at ease. He wasn’t doing all that well. Someone walked down the stairs next to him, it was this Bucky person. “Hello,” he said as he sat down next to Loki.

“Hello,” Loki said, slightly confused as to why the metal armed man was sitting next to him.

“I saw you sitting alone and I thought, we haven’t officially met yet, why don’t I go introduce myself. I’m Bucky Barnes.”

“Yes, Wanda told me. I’m Loki.” 

“Nice to meet you,” he said extending his left hand, his metal hand, out to shake Loki’s hand.

Loki hesitated, not because of the metal hand, but because he was taken aback by Bucky’s friendliness. “Uh, likewise.” He shook his hand. Funny, for having a metal hand he would have expected Bucky’s grip to be hard and strong, like Nebula’s, but it almost felt like shaking a real flesh hand. After the hand shake, they both just kind of sat there. “So…you are a friend of the dear Captain’s?”

“Yeah, Steve and I grew up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn. Then we fought in the same regiment over in Germany.”

“I see.”

“Yeah.” Bucky took a deep breath. “Yeah.” Loki didn’t know what to say. It was then that he realized that he probably had never had any friends because he wasn’t a really good conversationalist. Sure, he was good at the sarcastic quips but that really didn’t seem to go over very well when trying to just talk to people. “So, um, Steve told me that he was friends with a mystical man with godlike powers who was your brother and that he just died recently.” 

Loki blinked a few times. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who had problems making conversation. “Yes, that’s true.” And he hated that it was.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said with genuine sympathy. 

Most people who had recently lost a family member would say, “Thank you” or nod or do something _normal_ after hearing what Bucky had said. Maybe he should just do that or just shrug it off and continue pretending that Thor’s death didn’t affect him as much as it did. Maybe he should just continue being the God of Mischief. But he was almost tired of the façade. So, a small bit of his true grief to Thor’s death and his own bewilderment to why anyone would care started to shine through. 

“Do you not know who I am?” he almost snapped. “I’m the one who killed hundreds of innocent people in New York five years ago and brainwashed people. You shouldn’t be offering me condolences or-or care how I am coping with this. You should be giving me dirty and suspicious looks. You should question me about whether or not you can be able to trust me.”

He realized that Bucky was probably just trying to be nice, but what could he say, he just snapped a little. And he didn’t understand these people, he really didn’t. Why would any of them care? He didn’t understand why Bruce trusted him for the most part or why Wanda would ever want to know him better or why T’Challa would open up his kingdom to his people. And now, he didn’t understand why Bucky would offer him genuine condolences. He didn’t deserve their trust and he knew that and yet, he also knew that it was all he wanted.

_Stars above, I am so inconsistent._

“I’m not one to judge,” Bucky said quietly. “For over sixty years, I was an assassin for an evil deranged organization called Hydra with over two hundred kills. But I’m not that person anymore and I can only assume that the only reason you’re here is because you’re not the person that you used to be.”  
Loki blinked in surprise. Had he heard him right? “So, you…you were an assassin?”

“Yeah,” Bucky said with a new air of tiredness around him.

“And now you’re with the Avengers?”

“Well, no. Not exactly. You see, Hydra found me and warped my mind until I forgot who I used to be. A couple years ago I went on the run and remembered my past. I was then framed for a bombing at the U.N. but Steve believed that it wasn’t me and put himself on the outs with most of his friends.”

Was that the explanation to why the Avengers broke up? The dear Captain had protected his friend? There had to be more to the story, but for now Loki didn’t care about that. He was just fascinated with the metal armed man. Possibly the only person in the whole group, besides Wanda, who could understand what he was going through. Bucky had to understand. He was known as a killer and probably had been treated as one even after all was said and done. Because once you gain the reputation of being something horrible and evil it’s almost impossible to gain back people’s trust.

“This Hydra thing brainwashed you?”

“Yeah. It’s such a weird thing. It’s like, it’s like…” He trailed off not knowing how to correctly explain himself.

“It’s like you think about yourself as one thing and then all of that just goes away. And you are what they made you become. Then you wake up and you have absolutely no idea how you are supposed to cope.”

Now it was Bucky’s turn to blink in surprise. He turned and eyed Loki in the same way that Loki had eyed him a few moments ago, probably internally asking the same question, does he understand? “Exactly,” he whispered.

Loki shrugged. “I have some experience with the whole not being in complete control of your actions thing. It wasn’t for sixty years though, it was maybe just for over a year, but I know how-how…difficult that can be, so I’m sorry.”

Loki wasn’t sure if he was this open because befriending Wanda had made him more open in general, or if it was because Bucky could relate to the hard to explain pain of waking up and seeing things clearly after being so twisted around for so long. 

Bucky sat in silence and then it seemed to dawn on him. “New York.” Loki stayed quiet. “I read about it when I was trying to catch up on everything I missed during my time in Hydra. The attack in New York was the first confirmed otherworldly event, where some guy wanted to become a tyrant.” 

_Tyrant, really? That was a bit harsh._

“I knew that the guy was you, I just assumed that you had changed. I didn’t know that you had been-”

“Yeah, most people don’t know.”

“They don’t-why not?”

Loki chuckled humorlessly. “I don’t think they would believe me. They would just assume it was another in a long series of lies and that I was just trying to shift the blame.”  
Bucky sighed, “You should give the others a little more credit. I mean, they believed me. Well, most of them did anyways.”

“That’s true,” Loki muttered. “That’s probably the only reason they have trusted me thus far.”

“ _“Thus far”_? What are you, Shakespeare?” Bucky asked, jokingly.

“Shakespeare? He was the playwright, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Read some of his pieces. Not too bad actually.”

“I could never read anything like that. Too wordy and dramatic for me.”

“Have you ever read, _Frankenstein_? Now _that_ is too wordy and dramatic.”

Bucky chuckled, “You know more about Earth’s literature then I do and you’re not even from Earth. You’re from that world in Norse mythology, right? You and your brother are like similar to the Norse Gods.”

“We _are_ the Norse Gods.”

Bucky laughed and shook his head. “Why not? The world just keeps on gettin’ crazier and crazier. Why not have gods directly from the legends? It almost makes perfect sense.”

Loki half-smirked. “You’re right about the world getting crazier. Particularly, this world. Every time I come here, there is a new person or group of people or something that is just fantastical and amazing. You humans never cease to impress me.”

“Well, I’m glad we could impress you,” Bucky mused.

They both chuckled and then sat in comfortable silence. There was some sort of mutual respect being formed out of that silence. It was like they both had found someone who understood the other. Loki had never told anyone about his time on Thanos’s ship, not even Thor, and Wanda only knew because of her intrusive powers, so it was nice to know that there was someone who could relate to him. And Bucky, who had felt he was the only person in the world to have gone through these experiences, was glad to know that he was not alone.

“So, the God and the Winter Soldier are bonding?” Sam asked as he walked down the stairs and stopped before reaching where the other two men sat.

Loki rolled his eyes and glared at Sam over his shoulder. “Joy to the blessed world. And to think I thought that I could have a nice conversation with this fellow,” he motioned to Bucky, “but no. Now you have to come with your annoying comments.”

Sam crossed his arms and told Bucky, “According to the God, I’m the annoying one.”

“I said that you were _an_ annoying one, not _the_ annoying one. Although, you are quickly becoming the annoying one.”

Bucky chuckled and stood up from the stairs. “I’m sure watching you two go at it, throwing witty insults at each other would be great, but-” It was at that moment that a large triangle shaped space pod was plummeting from the sky towards the city. Loki jumped up from where he sat. Another pod from Thanos’s ship. It was beginning. Just as the pod should have crashed into the city, it instead crashed into an invisible protective shield that then glowed yellowy orange after the pod was broken up from hitting the shield. Bucky looked at the shield, very much impressed. “God, I love this place.”

Loki nodded. “I know, right.”

Sam pointed to the East where other pods were landing outside of the shield. “Guys, don’t get too happy yet. There’s still a bunch of other ones over there.”  
“We gotta go and secure the front lines,” Bucky said, glancing from Loki to Sam.

“Cap said you would say that,” Sam muttered as he pulled two small ear communication devises from his pocket. He handed one to Bucky, who took it right away, and the other to Loki. “They’re all-way communication radios. That way we all can stay in touch,” Sam explained after Loki just stared at the little piece of plastic and metal.

“Yes, I know what they are.” He took it from Sam and put it in his ear. He hadn’t hesitated because he didn’t know what they were, it was because he was reading into what they meant too much. To be in the loop like that, meant to be part of, well, the team. And that was just…unusual and unexpected. But again he probably was just reading too much into it.

Sam motioned his head behind him. “Come on. There’s a hovercraft carrier thing back there that you two can take with Cap and the rest of the Wakandan warriors.”

“And how will you be getting there?” Loki asked with a bit of a tone.

Sam smirked and put on a pair of red goggles. “By air.” That jet pack that he always wore, wasn’t a jet pack at all. Two extendable and metal wings burst out of the pact and Sam took off straight into the air and he flew towards the East side of the protective shield.

Loki just stared up in surprise and amazement. “Huh…”

“You impressed again?” Bucky asked smiling.

“A little bit, yes.”

Bucky chuckled. “Come on, we should go and meet up with Steve and the others.” Bucky almost ran up the stairs and Loki was close behind him.  
Loki didn’t know what was going to happen next. He didn’t know whether they would somehow win against Thanos and his children or if they would all die in a blaze of glory. But he told himself that whatever happened, whether it be good or bad, he would not be alone. He would have his sort of friends by his side. And that was better than anything else in the world.

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

_Author’s Note: I was so disappointed when Loki died within the first two minutes of IW because I wanted him to meet Bucky. (And because you know, Loki is awesome and I didn’t want to see him die for the third time.) The Bucky Loki friendship is one of those things that I never thought about before but once I did, I realized how much I wanted to see it in canon. Oh well, here's hope for the TV shows._

_And also I have decided that T’Challa and Shuri are some of my favorite characters to write for. She is so bubbly and sweet and he is so straight faced and ready to give a monologue at a second’s notice. In other words, it’s just fun!_

_Hope all of you enjoy your summer. Bye!_


	6. Chapter Five: Two Gods, a Tree, and a Rabbit

When Bucky and Loki had gone to the place where Sam had said that they could go and board some hovercraft carriers, several had already taken off towards the outskirts of the city, closer to the yellow grassed fields and the glowy protective barrier. Each one was filled to the capacity with Wakandan warriors dressed in colorful knitted outfits and armed with white small swords that were bent at a slight angle. General Okoye was directing her Dora Milaje onto a craft, while King T’Challa, who had made a wardrobe change into an almost skin tight black uniform that had a pointy silver necklace and gloves with retractable claws, was directing the rest of the warriors. Steve and Natasha were already on a semi-filled craft. Bucky didn’t at all hesitate in climbing up the small ramp and joining his friends, Loki was close behind him.

The dear Captain had two large, gray and silver shields attached to his arms. They were nothing like his Frisbee American themed shield that Loki had seen before, but they were still quite interesting. Steve saw Bucky and said, “Sam gave you the ear piece?”

Before Bucky could reply, Sam said over the radio, _“Of course, I did. What kind of a question is that? When have I ever not done what was asked of me?”_

Natasha scoffed, “Do we really have time to get into that Pandora’s Box?”

 _“Funny,”_ Sam deadpanned.

“Guys, focus,” Bruce said from behind them. Loki turned to the sound of his voice expecting to see mild mannered Bruce in his burrowed button down shirt, pants, and tennis shoes. Instead he saw a Hulk size Iron Man suit. It literally looked like one of Stark’s traditional suits had been given steroids.

Loki did a double take. “What the- _Bruce?_ Are you in that thing?”

The suit’s giant red and yellow helmet opened up to reveal Bruce’s tiny little head. He beamed and said, “Yeah! This is pretty cool actually. It’s like being the Hulk without being the Hulk!”

Loki nodded, still surprised at the enormous suit and once again, he felt the telltale feeling of being impressed. “So are there any more amazing and vastly different inventions by Stark that I should know about now, or…?”

Steve half chuckled but turned his attention back to the barrier, “Sam, Rhodey. What’s going on down there?”

Sam flew along the edge of the barrier in his winged jet pack along with Rhodey in his gray Iron Man knock off suit. Rhodey answered first, _“The space ships appear to be just sitting there. No signs of life coming out of-oh wait!”_

“Wait, what?” Natasha asked, as their hovercraft’s ramp closed up and the craft was started up by one of the colorfully dressed warriors. It floated about a foot and half off of the ground and then it took off in the direction that the other crafts had gone in. Bruce’s helmet closed and he jogged alongside them.

Rhodey continued, _“There are two people approaching the barrier. One is a man with pointed ears and a sword.”_

“Corvus Glaive,” Loki muttered.

_“And the other is a pale woman with a big spear.”_

“And Proxima Midnight.”

 _“Cap,”_ Sam started, _“those are the two that attacked Vision earlier.”_

“And they’re just standing by the edge of the shield?” Steve asked.

_“Yeah.”_

“What are they waiting for?” Bucky said, asking the question that was on everyone’s minds. 

Loki knew the answer. “The members of the Black Order consider themselves merciful. They no doubt will make one attempt to try and persuade you to give over your Vision’s stone and then surrender.”

 _“I’m not saying I want to surrender,”_ Sam said, _“but what would happen if we did?”_

Loki shrugged. “They would probably kill half of us.”

Bucky, Steve, and Natasha all turned and gave him a confused look and rightfully so. Surrendering usually meant that your life and all of those fighting with you would be spared. The Black Order did not work that way. “That doesn’t make sense,” Bucky said.

Loki nodded. “In their twisted logic _that_ is being merciful. Besides, it helps with Thanos’s goal of destroying half of all life.”

Bucky shook his head. “Alright, I don’t like these people.” 

Their hovercraft stopped before a large crowd of warriors and was turned off. The ramp was lowered and the craft was quickly unloaded. If you looked to your left or your right, you could see lines of warriors prepared for battle. The Wakandans were ready for the ultimate showdown and none of them showed any fear. T’Challa and General Okoye stood with their people as Steve, Natasha, Bucky, Loki, and Bruce in the Hulk Buster suit approached them. Bruce stayed back because of the vast amount of space he took up in the suit, but the other four went to the front and were greeted by T’Challa with a nod.

Another African man dressed in blue material and fur, carrying a wooden staff came up with hundreds of more warriors, whooping and hollering some sort of war cry. T’Challa turned to the man and smiled. “M’Baku, thank you for fighting with us.”

M’Baku smiled back. “Of course, my friend. Anything for the preservation of our world.”

The dear Captain told the kind king that Glaive and Midnight were waiting by the edge of the barrier and that they more than likely wanted a chance to talk them into surrendering. “Perhaps we should convince them into surrendering,” T’Challa said. At the same time Loki and this M’Baku fellow scoffed. T’Challa glanced between the two of them. “Evidently, you both have a problem with this idea.”

M’Baku crossed his arms. “I do not think that we should waste time going over there to be all diplomatic like.”

T’Challa faced the man. “We do not know if they will or will not accept our offer until we make an effort.” Perhaps it was because T’Challa was still young and was not yet completely jaded by life, but he was almost acting borderline naïve. 

“As lovely a sentiment as that is,” Loki interrupted, “when Bruce and I were in New York with Stark, the two Black Order members that we faced were not in a surrendering, compromising mood. I doubt that these two will be much better.” 

T’Challa sighed, “Thank you both for your input, but I will go and have a word with them myself. We must not be completely hasty in deciding who is good and who is bad.” Or perhaps T’Challa’s upbringing had opened his mind to seeing the best in people and to try and find it. If that were the case then it made sense why he was not rude or so questioning of Loki. “Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, would you care to join me?”

The dear Captain and Natasha both nodded and started walking with T’Challa across the field. “Hey Nat,” Bruce called from inside the suit. Natasha turned back. “Be careful.” She smiled and continued walking. Why the three were walking was beyond Loki. They should have taken one of the hovercraft carriers because from where they were all standing to the edge of the protective barrier, it was probably about one or maybe two square miles away. Oh well. He wasn’t going to point it out if they couldn’t figure it out for themselves.

…

“How long have those three been talking with those two psychopaths?” Loki asked, his annoyance not at all hidden. He was pacing back and forth in front of their line of people. He had pulled out one of his daggers and was twirling it over his fingers in a nervous type of way.

“Boy, he gets antsy,” Bucky commented to no one in particular.

“Oh, no,” Bruce said from inside his suit. “He’s not antsy, he’s anxious. He’s not good at waiting when he doesn’t know the outcomes of things.”

Loki half smiled at the big ridiculous suit. “Good to know that some people listen to me when I speak.” As soon as he had said that, he went right back to pacing. He really didn’t understand why he was so anxious. The Black Order members were going to unleash their full arsenal, whatever that may be, and try to get the stone from the Vision’s head. Great. He already knew that, so he was prepared.

Maybe he was anxious because he just wanted to get the fight started and over with and yet, at the same time he wanted to hold onto however many minutes they all had left before the bloody battle. And on top of all of that, he really _didn’t_ know what was happening with the three talking with Thanos’s murderous children, because their radios had been lowered in volume.

“You have fought in big battles like this before, right?” Bucky asked Loki as he continued his pacing and twirling.

“Of course.”

“Besides New York?” Loki gave him an annoyed look. “Sorry. Just checking.”

“I just…” He swallowed and tried again. “I don’t like thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. The unknown is deafening.”

Bucky nodded, understanding what it was like to go into battles where you had no way of knowing one hundred percent if your plan would work or not. But General Okoye, who was off to the left standing with her warriors, scoffed, “You worry too much.”

_She and Valkyrie would absolutely get along._

Loki nodded and pulled up a fake smile. “You’re right. I mean, what is the worst thing that could happen if we lose? Oh, that’s right!” Then he diverged from pretending to be understanding to being a bit of an ass. “We are either wiped from existence or slaughtered. So given these two possible outcomes, _excuse me_ for being a little anxious.”

The man, M’Baku, dressed all in blue and fur let out a hearty laugh. He slapped his knee. “Oh, General, he got you there, didn’t he?” He chuckled again, shaking his head. Okoye glared at the man and then turned back to staring out straight ahead of her, where her king was.

Loki glanced at M’Baku. “And who are you, exactly?”

“I am M’Baku, leader of the Jabari tribe, the mountain tribe.”

“Oh, that explains all the fur.”

“Well, the mountains are very icy, so…”

 _“Heads up,”_ Rhodey said over the radio. _“Cap and the others are coming back.”_

“It’s about time,” Loki muttered stepping back into his place standing next to Bucky and amongst the Wakandan warriors. T’Challa, Steve, and Natasha all came marching through the field back to the group. All three looked stern.

_Guess nobody surrendered._

“Did diplomacy work?” M’Baku asked almost musingly to T’Challa when he stood back next to him.  
T’Challa glanced at the man and instead addressed his people. “The two we have spoken with have refused to surrender and are planning to attack at any moment. We must hold this line of defense. We cannot let anyone get to Vision and the stone. Understand?” M’Baku, General Okoye, and the warriors all nearby nodded in understanding.

Steve and Natasha walked over to where Loki and Bucky stood. “So, how’d it go?” Bucky asked.

Natasha shrugged and tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear. “Well, I think we kinda pissed both of them off.”

Loki wanted to slap his forehead. “Why would you do that?”

“Look, it wasn’t like we were planning it,” Natasha said as if that justified it.

Loki shook his head. “Stars above, if I had known that _that_ was the plan, I would have come along. Pissing people off is one of my strong suits and I could have done it in half the time you three all did it in.”

M’Baku laughed again. Bucky chuckled and nodded. “You are a bit annoying.”

“Why, thank you,” Loki said with a smirk.

“Okay,” Steve said in his “enough fooling around guys” tone of voice. It was funny how many tones of voices the dear Captain had.

 _“The space ships are opening up,”_ Rhodey said, gaining everyone’s attention. The multiple triangle shaped pods had doors built into the lower sides of the crafts that slid up with loud clangs, that could be heard all the way where the group was standing securing the front lines. 

The metal clangs reminded Loki of the sound his prison cell door made when it was shut. He could feel his right hand start to tremble at the thought of the dark and drafty stone cell. He inhaled and shook his head, almost annoyed with himself. Now was not the time to get caught up in the past. Now was the time to be ready and to focus.

Out from the space pods came spilling out hundreds of ravaged, four-armed black creatures called Outriders. They were like dogs or wolves but they had been mutated into something much worse and fierce. They all charged the protective barrier, growling and barking. Most just ran into it and bounced back, and then of course they tried again and again until they were either smothered to death by the other creatures running up behind them or managed to get partially through the shield before it closed back up and cut them in half.

It was a scary and appalling sight to see. General Okoye stared on in disbelief. “They are killing themselves.”

“They’re not going to get through that barrier,” Natasha said. “So why are they wasting their soldiers’ lives?”

“Because they do not value life,” Loki muttered. He wasn’t sure if anyone had heard him and he supposed that it didn’t really matter.

One or two of the Outriders made it all the way through the barrier in one piece and started running across the field, but they were quickly taken care of by Rhodey’s big gun on his shoulder and Sam’s two hand held guns. Finally, the dumb creatures grew smart or they were ordered to try something else, because several of them ran around to the other sides of the barrier. _“They’re moving!”_ Sam said as he swooped down and shot another creature twice in the head.

“We see that,” Steve said and he turned worriedly to T’Challa. “We cannot let any of them go around and get behind us. If even one of them get through without our knowing it-”

“I agree Captain.”

“Then what is your plan?” M’Baku asked, tightening his grip on his staff.

T’Challa pressed his fingers to his ear. “Shuri, how are you doing?”

Shuri’s voice could be heard over the radio. _“I have barely just started, brother.”_

“Continue what you are doing, but faster.” T’Challa then spoke to a woman who was apparently somewhere near the controls to the barrier. “On my count, you will open up sector 16 of the shield.”

“Hold on, what?” Loki exclaimed.

T’Challa met the trickster’s confused and concern gaze. “We need to keep their attention on us. The only effective way to do this is by opening up the barrier and keeping them focused on the fight.”

Loki shook his head. “So the plan is to let the scary dog things in?”

“Correct.”

“…Why is this a good idea again?” T’Challa let out a deep breath and refocused on talking with the woman over the radio. At the word that the barrier would be opening up, the colorful warriors pulled out their swords, M’Baku started hollering his war cry again, General Okoye and her Dora Milaje twirled their spears to be pointed at the enemy, Natasha un-holstered her two black hand guns, Bucky took the safety off of his semi-automatic machine gun, and the dear Captain did something that made his arm shields expand and three sharp metal points protrude from the ends of them. All of them were ready for the fight and what more, they didn’t even question the non-existing logic of opening up the barrier that would let in everyone’s death. Loki shook his head again, feeling his breath getting caught in his throat. He felt like he had when Thor told him that they needed to enact Ragnarok and he said the same thing he had said then, “This is madness.”

Bucky glanced at him, perhaps catching on to his underlining fear. “You’re probably right.” Loki faced the metal armed man, who apparently had taken a page out of the dear Captain’s bravery manual, because he never even faltered. “But the world keeps on gettin’ crazier and crazier, you agreed with that. This,” he motioned to the barrier and the murderous creatures that were trying to get in, “is just another weird day on Earth.”

Loki half smiled. “Certainly is the weirdest, longest, and most emotionally challenging day that I have had in a while.” Bucky smiled with some sort of understanding. Loki shook his head and swallowed down his doubts. “Okay. Alright. Let’s do this.” He motioned his left hand and conjured up another dagger so that he had a total of two. “I mean, what’s the worst thing that could happen?” He tried to ask that rhetorical question with a bit of optimism or irony, but to his own ears it sounded fearful and slightly weak.

“On my count,” T’Challa said to the lady on the radio as well as to everyone on the front lines. “Three…two…one…” A mask of some sort materialized over T’Challa’s head and face that looked like a panther’s head with silver eyes. “Now!” A space about three feet wide of the barrier opened up and the Outriders came pouring onto the field. “Wakanda forever!” the king shouted.

A chorus of Wakandans shouted in agreement, “Wakanda forever!” 

And then everyone started sprinting and charging towards the opened barrier. Steve, T’Challa, and Loki soon were in front of the others, reaching the massive horde before anyone else. Loki knew why he and the super soldier managed to run ahead of the rest, but he was incredibly curious as to why T’Challa had such speed to him. He either had the stamina or it was his suit giving him the abilities. But that could wait…

The dear Captain jumped over a small brook and smashed his left shield into a howling creature. T’Challa’s claws sprang out and he was soon slicing them at a group of four that were trying to take him down. The second the other two had hit the creatures head on, Loki stopped running to find his vantage point. He then threw the dagger in his left hand straight for the eye socket of a fast approaching creature. The dagger multiplied into ten daggers, each one hit their target and either maimed or killed a disgusting Outrider.

By this time the rest of their army came charging in. The battle was not like most, were there was some sort of plan that was strategically formed and then executed. It was hectic and chaotic. Alien creatures with their pointed and yellowed teeth snapping at warriors dressed in ritual clothing, armed with nothing except for their swords and their cunningness, while two men flew through the sky shooting the creatures down with bullets and bombs, and a doctor with several PhDs ripped the hissing monsters apart with the mighty power of one of Stark’s inventions. It was absolutely bloody insane. A creature swung his razor claws at Loki, who easily dodged it, grabbed hold onto the creature’s arm, and drove a dagger through its heart.

Thor would have loved this. 

All this fighting. 

The oaf might have changed from a war seeking buffoon to a selfless hero, but he still had a slightly unhealthy addiction to the thrill of the fight. He _used to have_ a slightly unhealthy addiction to the thrill of the fight. Thinking about his brother in the past tense filled Loki’s chest with a deadly rage and before he knew it, he was conjuring up daggers left and right and throwing them at the Outriders. There was a small and growing pile of dead, once scary dog things, all with their blood pouring out and shiny knives protruding from their necks, chests, and eye sockets. He knew that Thanos did not care horribly for these creatures’ lives as he had cared about Thor’s life, but anything to get back at the mad Titan…

 _“Ah, guys,”_ Sam said as he flew overhead. _“I think we all need to crank up our maximum effort here.”_

“Why?” Steve shouted from where he stood beating two creatures senseless.

 _“Because the God is puttin’ us all to shame.”_

Loki chuckled with a glimmer of mischief. “I told you all that you could trust my rage.”

“Point taken,” Natasha said, shooting a handful of creatures at close range. Their blood splattered out, dying bits of the yellow field red. A creature grabbed Natasha’s shoulder and before it could do anything else, the ex-assassin powered up her blue Taser that was around her wrist and punched the creature in the throat. The creature jolted and let out a howling pained cry. Then Natasha shot it and put it out of its misery. “Are these things still coming?” she asked, wiping her sweaty forehead before continuing with the fight.

 _“Unfortunately, yes,”_ Rhodey said. He flew closer to the barrier opening, but he was still several feet in the air so no creature could jump and get him. _“Nobody go to the opening for a minute,”_ he commanded and then the big gun on his shoulder shot out what must have been small missiles, because suddenly there were massive explosions and fire balls at the opening. The explosions were so powerful that Loki could feel the heat from them all the way where he was standing, about a hundred and fifty feet away. The feat was impressive, but the smell of burning alien flesh was horrific.

Though, Loki had to give Rhodey and his suit credit; Stark had never blown anything to hell like  
that. “Hey, War Machine, I take back everything I said about you being an Iron Man knockoff.”

 _“Jeez, thanks,”_ he muttered, but Loki could tell he was happy about the compliment.

 _“Alright Rhodes!”_ Sam exclaimed. _“Way to crank up the effort! Now we’re on par with the God!”_

“This is not a competition!” Steve shouted.

“Although if it was,” Loki said twirling two daggers in the air, preparing for the next line of creatures to reach him. “I would probably win.”

“Your modesty is astounding,” T’Challa called as he tackled a creature to the ground and sliced his claws over its neck.

That was the fight. 

Always being seconds away from death only to somehow succeed in triumphing over a creature or group of them and then barely have a minutes break before the next murderous batch came up. The smell of fire, ash, and blood filled the air to the point that it was almost suffocating. The Avengers were holding their own quite well, but the more impressive thing was that the reclusive, never fought an alien before in their lives, Wakandan warriors were holding their own. 

The warriors were good at teamwork, one distracting an Outrider while two others jumped it and slew it with their swords. The Dora Milaje and their fierce general knew how to duck and run around the four-armed creatures until they could stab their spears through them. M’Baku appeared to be well trained in the art of hand to hand combat and although it appeared that he did not have any super human strength, he got right down into the heat of the battle and took the creatures on one by one. He also bashed their heads in with his staff. And King T’Challa, the Blank Panther, was the best of them all. His reflexes were uncanny and his skills as a fighter made Loki realize that if anyone was fool enough to challenge the Wakandan Empire to a war, they would lose.

It was almost ironic. The gentle, peace seeking king was the swiftest and most deadly warrior out of all of his people. Odin’s words came to mind: _“A wise king never seeks out war, but he must always be prepared for it.”_ It was the first time in Loki’s life that he actually saw someone embody Odin’s lesson.

All of sudden the ground started to shake and there was a horrible, shrieking sound of machinery. What happened next, happened so fast that almost nobody could process what was going on. The grassy field and soft dirt began to become unearthed and rise up in several different spots along the inside of the barrier until five enormous ring shaped vehicles with metal moving razor sharp edges burst out of the ground. The fast moving edges were meant to be used to dig underneath the surface of most planet, like they had just done to get around the barrier, but when the vehicles flew through the air and touched the ground, they mowed down everything in sight. Plants, the Outriders, the poor unsuspecting Wakandan warriors who had gotten too close.

 _“Son of a Bitch! What the hell are those things?”_ Sam shouted.

“Fall back! We need to fall back!” T’Challa screamed, running from the still incoming creatures and the killer vehicles. He wasn’t thinking about the fight right now, he was thinking about the lives of his people. A fearful sense of panic seemed to rise through the entire army until everyone was retreating.

But Loki knew better.

There was no way that they could outrun those things and an even lesser chance that could somehow destroy them. They had Rhodey and his explosives, sure, but how many would be shredded to pieces before he had finished taking care of them? No. The answer was simple.

Loki stopped running and threw down both daggers. He raised his hands out and concentrated. All of the retreating warriors started to vanish in a flash of green. _“What are-”_ Sam started to ask before Loki interrupted.

“Teleporting everyone to safety! When it’s clear, have War Machine blow these things to hell.”

_“With pleasure.”_

All the people in front of him were gone and he quickly turned in a circle catching everyone he saw and making sure he didn’t teleport an Outrider. He could feel his strength start to dwindle, but he pushed himself until he was sure he had gotten everyone. And then when the vehicles were about ten feet away from him, he teleported as well.

He knew that he couldn’t teleport that many people a far distance away and even if he could, the battle still needed to be fought. So he did the only logical thing: he teleported everyone who was in the path of the vehicles to be behind them where the death machines had already been. When Loki had teleported himself to safety he fell to the ground, completely and utterly exhausted. He wasn’t the only one half sitting, half laying on the ground. Several Wakandan warriors, Dora Milaje members, and even the dear Captain all sat on the ground looking around bewildered.

“Weren’t we on the other side of those things?” M’Baku asked, standing up and pointing out at the vehicles that were still driving further and further away. “How did we get over here?”

“Magic,” Loki muttered. “It is not that hard of a concept. Anytime you want to blow those things up!”

 _“I’m on it, get a grip,”_ Rhodey said, flying higher in the sky to look down at the circular vehicles. His gun shot out two missiles, both hitting two of the five machines. Both caught fire and started to lose control. They crashed into the sides of the field, blowing up. _“Two down, three to-”_ Corvus Glaive charged Rhodey, sprang into the air, and tackled him to the ground. _“I’m down! I’m down!”_

Natasha, T’Challa, and Steve all were running to help their friend, just as the remaining three vehicles spun around and started heading back towards them. M’Baku turned to Loki. “Quick! Do whatever you just did again!”

Loki shook his head, catching his breath. “I can’t. I…” Bruce in his large suit started running towards the three approaching vehicles. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll stop them!”

“Bruce, you idiot those machines will tear that suit apart along with you!”

Bruce didn’t listen and in fact he started running faster. This was an absolute bloody disaster. Did Bruce think this was a good idea at all? This was a terrible idea! He was going to get himself-

_Stars above._

This was just like what had happened when Thor sent him away. Loki had to do something, and if not him, then someone else fast before the man with breath taking anger management issues got himself killed. And thank the stars, his prayers were answered.

Wanda flew down, her red energy sparkling and crackling all around her, and landed right in front of Bruce keeping him from reaching the vehicles. Bruce screeched to a halt. Wanda flew her hands about making odd gestures as she controlled the energy, knocking two of the vehicles into each other, completely destroying them. She held her hand out, stopping the last and final vehicle. And then she did something incredible. She lifted the thing in the air, turned around, her eyes were shining brightly in a scarlet hue, and threw it at the still present horde of Outriders that were behind the shaken up army.

Wanda walked slowly towards the group, breathing deeply. The Wakandans were obviously impressed. General Okoye kept looking from Wanda to the mass destruction she had just caused, with an amazed look on her face. “Why was she up in that room this whole time?”

Wanda found Loki and started walking faster towards him. “Your timing is impeccable,” Loki said, half smiling. “Also, well done with dispatching the death vehicles and taking out more of those pesky creatures.”

“Thank you. Now do you need help or can you stand up by yourself?”

Loki chuckled and got himself back onto his feet, stumbling only once. “Those things are still coming.”  
“Then shall we?” she asked with a spark of mischief in her eye. He smirked and together they ran in the direction of the incoming Outriders. General Okoye and M’Baku hollered for the Wakandan warriors to follow and Bruce ran with them. The fight started again as if nothing had happened. 

Wanda and Loki stood back to back in the heart of the madness, both quickly defeating the creatures that approached them. Wanda pulled them apart and flew them backwards with her scarlet powers while Loki continued to conjure up daggers and always hit his target. Every once in a while, a creature would get too close and Loki would form a small green shield of magic that would push the creature back so he could throw his dagger. He wasn’t too sure how long he could do that anymore. The conjuring up of items never took much strength but the shields…

One practically ravaged creature almost tried to bite his arm and he couldn’t seem to find the strength to form a shield. Luckily, Bucky had been around and shot the beast five times, the bullets ripped through it spattering blood on Loki and Wanda.

“Really?” she said disgustedly and shook her arms, obviously grossed out.

“Sorry,” Bucky muttered, joining the two were they stood.

“Don’t be,” Loki said. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Saw you two taking on all these things like a bunch of crazy commandos I used to know, so I thought I’d join you and watch your six.” And he did. Any Outrider that they somehow overlooked or were getting too close, Bucky shot them down.

Loki wasn’t sure how long the three of them had been at this, but it seemed like forever. Constantly killing to ensure that you did not get killed. Pushing yourself to the point of wanting to collapse from exhaustion. They were alive, though. That’s what mattered. Rhodey flew by in his suit. _“Since nobody asked, I’ll just tell you all: I’m fine.”_

Loki rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you in your country’s protective forces? Your military? Don’t they train you that in the heat of battle it is not about you?”

“Is that why we haven’t had to endure your smartass comments?” Natasha yelled from where she was fighting a creature with the help of General Okoye.

“Funny, Red.”

 _“Please,”_ Wanda shouted, “can we focus on what is happening right now and not-?” Proxima Midnight took advantage of Wanda being slightly distracted and tackled her to the ground.

“Wanda!” Loki hollered and he started running towards her, Bucky behind him. Before either of them could reach her, a loud and monstrous cry could be heard throughout the field. For the briefest of moments, Loki thought that Bruce had changed into the Hulk, but then he still saw a red and yellow metal suit in the corner of his eye, so…?

Cull Obsidian landed in front of Loki and Bucky and swung his massive arm at them. As neither of them expected the giant gray dwarf to just come out of nowhere, they weren’t able to dodge his arm. They both felt the brute force of his arm hit their midsections and throw them backwards about twenty feet. The two men hit the ground with pained cries. “Jesus…” Bucky muttered, wincing. “I think I broke something.”

Loki didn’t know if he had broken anything or not, he just knew that he felt dazed and breathing suddenly became very painful. The air was like fire in his lungs, but yet he was so out of breath that he needed to bring in more air. He hated that damn giant dwarf for making something as easy as breathing feel like hell. His head was pounding (of course it was) and he could just faintly taste blood in his mouth. He tried sitting up but he knew he would need a minute.

 _“What the hell is that thing?”_ Rhodey called.

“Cull Obsidian,” Loki muttered, holding his head with his hands.

 _“Why am I not surprised that you know the scaly monster,”_ Sam muttered as he flew with Rhodey to start attacking the monster.

Loki sat up with a groan and huffed, “He was one of the two members that attacked Bruce, Stark, and I in New York, you annoying little man and I do not appreciate-” A sharp twinge of pain shut him up. He glanced down at his left side and saw three long horizontal cuts. They weren’t deep and they weren’t bleeding that much, but they hurt. A lot. “Damn Obsidian and his obnoxiously long fingernails.”

“What did you just say?” Natasha asked, confused. Loki glanced over at the blonde and saw her and General Okoye helping Wanda fight Midnight. He let out a sigh of relief. Wanda was still alive. Obsidian swung his arms at Rhodey and Sam, getting them away from him for a moment and that’s when he spotted Loki. His face scrunched up into a scowl. Apparently he was still mad about being stabbed with those two daggers in New York. 

_Damn._

Obsidian started staking closer. “Oh great…” Loki muttered.

 _“What? “Oh great” what?”_ T’Challa questioned, from wherever he was at.

Loki held his right hand over his painful wound and got to his feet, but stayed low. He clenched his left hand and prepared himself for what he knew would happen next. “Um, if anyone wants to help me that would be wonderful, but if not then please just move out of the way when I say so.”

“Wha-?” Bucky started to say, but then Loki took off running in the opposite direction. 

He didn’t look back, but he could hear Obsidian’s furious roar and loud stomps of him running behind him.

_Don’t look back, don’t look back._

He sprinted past Wakandan warriors who all either shouted in surprise and then jumped out of the way or just froze up. When they were in his way he would harshly shout, “Get out of the way!” That usually worked. Obsidian’s thunderous steps were gaining on him.

_Don’t look back, don’t look back._

Obsidian’s roar sounded like it was only feet away. Loki glanced over his shoulder. The monster was only feet away.

_You looked back you idiot!_

Obsidian’s arm hit him again, this time in the upper back, tossing him to the side. He landed on his shoulder and rolled a few times until he was able to stop himself. Breathing was possibly the worst thing in the world right now. Adrenaline had been on his side, as he did not feel the pain of the cuts, although they were bleeding through his black and green coat because he had been running like a mad man, pumping his blood faster then what was recommended when you are injured. He was panting when Obsidian reached him; the giant was hovering over him just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Well, if this was how it was going to end, at least he had made some friends for the first time in his life. Loki truly was grateful for being able to say that he had friends, or partial friends, but the fact was he did think so little of himself that he never thought that any of them would go out of their way to save him. Fortunately for him, he was wrong. Obsidian raised his hand over his head, ready to strike when Bruce in the Hulk Buster suit came running over and tackled him. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Bruce said punching the dwarf repeatedly in the face.

Loki knew that he should do something or at least attempt to try and help Bruce with Obsidian, but he was so winded and so drained that he just sat there watching in amazement as Bruce held his own against the giant dwarf. It was incredible. Bruce in that suit was just as powerful as the Hulk and quite possibly even more powerful because he had one thing the Hulk never had: His mind. Hulk was at times just a dumb brute, but Bruce Banner was definitely one of the smartest people Loki had ever met. Obsidian smashed his fist against the suit’s helmet, but Bruce kept going, never ceasing. 

Obsidian roared, growing tired of this and knocked Bruce off of him. He grabbed the suit’s mechanical arms trying to pin Bruce down, but Bruce was faster and grabbed onto Obsidian’s hand. The mechanical hand latched on tight to Obsidian, detached itself from the suit, and two repulsor beams sent the hand skyward, along with the struggling Obsidian. “See ya!” Bruce shouted.

Obsidian and the suit’s hand crashed into the top of the protective barrier head on and then they kept going along the edge of it, slowly killing Obsidian and breaking up the giant metal hand. A spark from the broken machinery caused the hand to ignite and then explode along with Obsidian. Thank the stars, nobody was sitting underneath the stream of fire and burnt bits of dwarf that rained down.  
Bruce, in the now one handed suit, turned to the still panting Loki. “You okay?”

Loki nodded. “Yeah…Been better. Been a lot…worse though.” He got to his feet again, but when he stood straight up he felt that twinge of intense pain in his side again. He held his hand over the bleeding wound again.

“Oh man, you’re hurt,” Bruce said, concern filling his voice.

“It’s really not that bad.” Loki glanced away from the man in the big suit back to the field that was still swamped with those damn Outriders. “We are going to lose this battle.” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud, it just sort of slipped out. What other conclusion could he come to? The Outriders were still coming, the army was being pushed to the point of exhaustion, and it wasn’t like anyone was going to show up at the last minute, making a big dramatic entrance, and turn the fight to their favor.

About fifteen creatures ran up behind Bruce knocking him to the ground, biting and ripping at his suit. Loki tried running to help, but several creatures were soon after him. He threw a dagger at one hitting it in the neck, but then they were all encircling him so he couldn’t escape. If he had been not as weak as he was right now, he might have been able to jump from enemy to enemy and quickly take care of them. However…One of the creatures grabbed his arm and threw him back to the ground. They were surrounding him again and at any moment they would jump him. He conjured up a dagger. He would take as many of them with him as he could. 

But before any of them could even move, a Bifrost white and rainbow light beam shot down from the sky and landed in the middle of the ever present battle. Out of the Bifrost came flying a large wooden handled axe through the air, knocking into clusters of Outriders that had been trying to take down the Wakandan warriors and the Avengers. The axe ricocheted like a boomerang until it hit all the creatures that were still attacking Bruce and all the creatures that were around Loki.

Well this was a turn of events.

Maybe he had been wrong, maybe someone would show up all dramatic like and rescue them from failure. But who was it and how did they get here via Bifrost when-

The axe flew back into the Bifrost light, just as the light disappeared revealing Thor in his traditional Asguardian armor and his flowing red cape, holding the giant axe. Loki’s mouth dropped open. 

_Stars above, he’s alive._

Loki felt as if his heart had just stopped from shock. It was a good, unbelievable shock. Thor was alive and here, in Wakanda. All the hows and whys did not matter, they didn’t even cross Loki’s mind. All he knew was that his brother was alive and he didn’t know if he would start laughing or crying.

Bruce’s helmet opened up, he laughed and called out to the Outriders and any other Black Order member that was out there, “You’re all screwed now!” Thor ran to the center of the field where there was still a large amount of creatures. He jumped slash flew in the air. Dark clouds rolled in and thunder boomed in the distance. Lightning started dancing across the sky and forming around Thor and his new weapon. Thor landed to the ground, smashing his axe to the ground. Lightning shot out in all directions from Thor and from the sky, frying the creatures.

Thor stood to full height, started running towards the opening in the barrier where the Outriders were still pouring in, and shouted out, “Bring me, Thanos!”

Loki smirked, feeling some sense of being proud. “That bloody showoff,” he muttered happily. He had a newfound strength that he was not about to waste. So he got back to his feet and ran into the heart of the battle.

 _“So, is that…?”_ Bucky asked over the radio.

“That’s Thor,” Loki said panting as he ran. “I must be rubbing off on him. Talk about a dramatic entrance!”

 _“We gotta win this thing now, right?”_ Sam called as he flew across the field. _“I mean, we got two Gods on our side now!”_

Any conversation that transpired after that, Loki did not hear. He was too focused on making his feet run faster towards Thor. A creature jumped at him and he easily threw a dagger into its eye. Then he finally made it where his brother stood swinging his axe, offing the creatures who were foolish enough to challenge the mighty Thor.

“Thor!” he called out. Thor turned around. All the signs of injury that he had had on their little port ship after Thanos’s attack were gone, in fact, he looked stronger than ever. Thor’s _eyes_ shown with relief and a glimmer of joy when he saw Loki.

“Loki.” He had never thought he would hear Thor’s deep voice say his name again.

It would have been nice if their reunion hadn’t been in the middle of a bloody battle, then Loki might have requested that hug he never had gotten. But instead he threw two daggers at two fast approaching creatures and Thor threw his axe splitting a handful of creatures down the middle.

“You’re alive,” Loki stated, knowing that he was pointing out the obvious.

“Well, of course I’m alive,” Thor said, turning back to focus on the fight. That was a good idea. They could catch up while they fought. “But you’re alive!”

Despite how happy he was that Thor was alive, he still couldn’t stand Thor’s usual dumb statements. “No kidding! You sent me away like an oaf, of course _I’m_ alive. I thought you were dead!”

Thor chuckled, “You should know better than most, brother. It will take a whole lot more than some world conquering mad man to kill me.”

“Don’t act like this is a joke, I was mourning you!” Loki shouted, remembering all the internal pain he had felt when he thought that Thor was gone forever and he truly was alone.

“Hey, I was mourning you for almost four years!”

_He has a point._

“…Call it even?”

Loki didn’t see Thor roll his eyes but he practically heard it in his tone of voice. “Sure, Loki. Sure. Now are you done yelling at me?”

“Not quite.”

“Then give me a second.” Thor threw his axe and it flew around like it had when he had arrived, knocking and killing whole groups of creatures. Thor turned around, facing Loki again. “Okay, continue.” 

“Thank you. Now-Wait…” He had noticed that Thor had both his eyes, but it just had sunk in that that was not right. “How did you get another eye?” It was also the first time he noticed that Thor hadn’t come to Wakanda alone. He had come with what looked like a walking tree and a clothed raccoon.

At the same time that Loki had made the connection that Thor had two eyes, Thor made the connection that Loki was wounded. “You’re bleeding,” he said pointing to Loki’s reddened side.

Loki shrugged it off. “It’s nothing to worry about.” Thor’s concerned look didn’t go away. “Seriously, Thor, it’s fine. Just, tell me how you ended up with your eye back.”

Thor motioned to the raccoon. “The rabbit had a spare one, so…” 

“Okay, first of all, that’s a raccoon not a rabbit and second of all, _why_ is there a raccoon?”

And then much to Loki’s surprise, the raccoon answered, “Because your pirate angel brother said there was a fight and I want to kill some guys!” The raccoon pulled out a big gun and started shooting like crazy at the groups of Outriders. The tree thing punched a few of the Outriders that got too close with his branch arms and when they broke off, they quickly grew back.

Loki shook his head. “You’ve been busy I see.”

Thor caught his axe when it came back to him. “Yes. It’s a long and fantastical tale that I plan on telling once we kill Thanos once and for all. And how was your day, brother? Good I’m assuming?”

“Funny.” Loki and Thor went about dispatching any and all of the creatures that came their way. “We’ll have to compare stories later,” Loki said dodging a creature’s punch. “And decide who had a more impressive and stress filled day.” 

Thor almost scoffed, “I traveled through the cosmos to get my axe and felt the full power of a star!”

“Yeah, well I assembled the bloody Avengers!” Loki said it as if it were a Badge of Honor.

“Rather horribly too,” Wanda muttered flying down next to the brothers and threw out a burst of her red energy towards the creatures.

“I know her,” Thor said pointing at Wanda. “She is that Maximoff girl.”

Loki nodded and watched Wanda take down the horde of Outriders with a wave of her hands. “Yes and she honestly makes a much better sister then Hela ever would have.” Wanda heard that, glanced over shoulder at Loki, and smiled.

“Speaking of her,” Thor said, “this is just like battling Hela and her minions all over again, don’t you think brother?”

“You and I remember that battle very differently, which leads me to believe you have a memory problem considering that was only four days ago!”

“The stakes were the same!” Thor retorted back. 

“Fine! But everything else was different, unless you think that fighting glowing green undead soldiers and our sister is the same as fighting Thanos’s children and disgusting four-armed creatures!”  
“Why must you argue with everything I say?”

“Because almost everything that comes out of your mouth is idiotic.” They were back to their old bickering ways. Stars, it felt good.

“You two have issues,” the raccoon said from where he stood still shooting his gun.

“Obviously!” Loki yelled. “You’ve seen my brother, the heroic idiot. Then you have me, the God of Mischief. And we both had the most manipulative, secretive father in all of the nine realms. _Of course_ , we have issues!”

“As much as I love the ensuing family drama,” Sam said landing down next to them, his wings retracting back into his pact. “We need to focus.” He helped the raccoon with shooting down the creatures for a while.

“He’s right,” the dear Captain said, tackling a creature nearby. He wearily stood up and said, “Sam, go help Natasha and T’Challa on the other side of the field.” Sam nodded and took off in the air again. Steve turned to Thor. “Good to have you back. New haircut?”

Thor chuckled, “Yes and I see you copied my beard.” The tree creature punched one of his branch arms through two Outriders, impaling them. He lifted them into the air. Loki and Steve both stared on in amazement. “Oh, allow me to introduce a new friend of mine.” Thor pointed to the tree thing. “Tree.” 

The tree turned to Steve and Loki and said, “I am Groot.”

Steve pointed to himself. “I am Steve Rogers.”

Loki rubbed his head with both hands. “I am totally over this day.”

Thor laughed and his eyes gleamed happily. “It has certainly been one of the longest days, hasn’t it?” Loki scoffed, shaking his head at the obvious statement. “But I wouldn’t worry about it, brother. I believe everything will turn out alright.”

Loki conjured up two more daggers and prepared himself for the next line of Outriders. “The last time you said that, this whole bloody mess started.”

Thor grabbed Loki’s shoulder. Loki turned to him and met Thor’s blue eyes. It was surprising that the prosthetic perfectly matched Thor’s natural hue. “We are going to get through this. Together.” Loki could feel his chest start to swell up. He truly wanted to believe that and after hearing the confidence Thor had spoken with, he did believe it. They could win this thing. His smile started out small and ended up growing into a beam.

Then annoying Sam ruined the moment and brought Loki back to the present situation. _“We have a Vision problem.”_

“Where are you?” Steve asked, pressing his right hand to his ear.

_“Over in the wooded area, near the start of the brook.”_

“I’m on my way,” Bruce said and he took off running towards the patch of trees.

“Me too,” Steve said. He glanced at Loki. “I could use a hand.”

The fact that the dear Captain not only wanted his help, but was requesting his help, took Loki aback. What was he to say to that? He couldn’t possibly leave Thor. “Go,” Thor said, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. “I’ve got this completely under control.”

“I, uh…” Thor eyed him expectedly. Loki exhaled. “Fine. Just…don’t do anything stupid like getting yourself killed. I don’t want to go through that again.” He tried to mask his worry for leaving his brother with an underlining bit of sass, but Thor could easily see through his façade.

“I’ll be okay, now go.” Thor let go of his shoulder and turned back to finish off the remaining Outriders with his newfound friends: the talking raccoon and Groot.

Loki hesitated one second more and then turned to Steve. “Alright, let’s save the Vision.” Steve started to run in the direction that Sam had told them to go, but Loki stopped him. “I think I have strength enough to get us there faster than running.” He flicked his hand and he and Steve both teleported in a flash of green to the middle of the wooded area.

Over to the right, near the streaming brook and under a large patch of trees, Vision was battling with Corvus Glaive. Vision still had the Mind Stone in his forehead and he had a new wound, a large gash across his left shoulder. Wires and other materials could be seen from the opened wound. Despite the Vision’s impressive strength, Glaive was winning the fight. He threw Vision against a thick trunked tree and took out a long, sharp metal contraption to pry the stone from Vision’s head.

Loki threw a dagger that pierced Glaive’s hand and he dropped the contraption with a cry of pain and surprise. Steve took off charging towards Glaive and yelled, “Loki, get Vision out of here!”

“But what about-?”

“Just do it!” Steve tackled Glaive and the two of them rolled down a slight incline. Loki sighed. The dear Captain was just as bad as his brother when it came to not worrying about himself. Oh well. He ran over to the injured and panting android.

“Are you alright?” he asked, kneeling down next to him.

Vision shook his head slightly, holding his hand over his shoulder wound. “I have felt better.” He glanced in the direction that Steve and Glaive had fallen. “We must help Captain Rogers.” He tried to stand and go where Steve was, but Loki grabbed his arm.

“Oh, no. You have to get out of here and go back to Shuri, right now.” Loki basically dragged the android away from the area where the other two were still punching it out. He got them both to a safer place, an opening with little to no trees. He let go of Vision and the android sat down to rest, probably still reeling from the pain in his shoulder. Loki felt his own wound; it was still bleeding, but not that much. “Just give me a moment. I can teleport us back to Shuri’s lab, I just…need a minute.” If he kept this up, he wouldn’t be surprised if he collapsed from exhaustion by the end of this thing.

“That man is a fierce opponent,” Vision said in reference to Glaive.

“I know.”

“He was the one who injured me before we all arrived at the Avengers headquarters. I worry for Captain Rogers.”

“The dear Captain is a fierce opponent too, you know.”

Vision glanced down at the ground sadly. “I know, however I feel that he may not be able to defeat that man. And you know what that would mean?” He looked back up and met Loki’s gaze. “It would mean that he sacrificed his life for mine.”

“You’re not going to let this go are you?” Vision took a deep breath and remained quiet.

_Well, that’s a yes._

Loki sighed almost irritated. “ _Fine_. Bruce? Sam? Anybody out there?”

 _“I’m almost there,”_ Bruce said.

Loki nodded seeing the large red and yellow suit coming their way. “Good. Make sure the Vision doesn’t do anything that he or any of us will regret.” He turned and started to jog back where they had left Steve and Glaive.

“Where are you going?” Vision called.

“To do something that I may regret.” His magic had taken its toll on him and almost all of his energy was gone. He couldn’t just attack the pointy eared bastard head on without a plan of some sort. He made it back to the thick trunked tree and saw Steve on his back being beaten by the vicious Glaive. He needed to think and fast. Then he saw the contraption that Glaive had tried to use on Vision. Loki quickly picked it up and ran down the incline. Glaive un-sheaved his double edged sword but before he could make a move to stab the dear Captain, Loki ran up behind him and drove the sharp end of the metal contraption through his back. Glaive died almost instantly after.

_Good riddance._

Loki threw the contraption and the impaled Glaive off to the side. Steve had several cuts on his face and a bloody nose. He looked up at Loki obviously surprised. Loki nodded weakly. “Yeah, I know. Shocked me too, but Vision wouldn’t stop talking about going back so…so, what was it you said? You don’t trade lives?”

Steve scoffed lightly. “Vision alright?”

“As much as can be expected.” He offered his hand, the one that wasn’t covered in his own blood, to the Captain. Steve took it and Loki pulled the weary soldier to his feet. “We should get Vision back to Shuri.”

“Yes and thank you.”

Loki half smiled. “You would have done the same, Captain.”

“Maybe.” 

When they both made it back to the little clearing, Bruce, Sam, T’Challa, and Wanda were all there. The three men had come to help fight but it was obvious that Wanda had come to make sure her Vision was okay. She was kneeling down next to him, her hand over his hand that was covering his shoulder wound.

Suddenly, Loki realized how eerily quiet it had become. There was still the faint sound of the Wakandan warriors and whoever else was left on the battlefield fighting the Outriders, but it was like everything besides that just stopped. There was no sound of birds or the wind or anything. To Loki, the air was becoming thicker and thicker and he had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.  
“We may have a problem,” he muttered, taking note that both of his hands were starting to shake.

“What is the-?” Steve started to ask, but just as he did Vision let out a painful scream and clutched at his forehead.

“Vision!” Wanda yelled, still at his side. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Vision took several deep breaths before answering her. “He’s coming. Thanos. He’s coming. I can feel it.”

“That’s the problem,” Loki muttered again.

Vision turned to Wanda, his eyes filled with desperation. “Wanda, you have to destroy the stone now.”

“No, I will not-”

“There is no time to argue.”

“You’re right,” Steve said. “This is no time to argue. You and Wanda have to get out of here, now.”

“Captain-” Vision started but Steve was already moving on to the next thing.

He spoke over the radio, “If anyone is not busy or needed on the field, we need you here in the wooded area.”

 _“Roger that,”_ Rhodey said.

 _“Be there in a second,”_ Bucky said.

Steve turned back to Vision and Wanda. “Go,” he said with an amount of force and sternness that Loki had never heard him use before. Wanda stood up, but Vision stayed seated and shook his head. Apparently that was another qualification for being an Avenger: stubbornness and always trying to sacrifice yourself for the greater good.

It was obvious that nobody was going to back down. Vision wasn’t going to leave, Wanda wasn’t going to destroy the stone, the dear Captain wasn’t going to command Wanda to destroy the stone. Loki took a deep breath and he concentrated on what he needed to do. After this, there would be no magic using, except for conjuring, for the rest of the battle. He raised both hands out in front of him: a light jade green shield passed over Vision and Wanda and then they disappeared.

“What the-did you teleport them?” Sam asked, walking over to where the two had been a second ago.

“No and I wouldn’t get too close. Because they are-” Sam tripped over air and landed flat on his face. “…They are still here. I just cloaked them. They can be neither seen nor heard.”

“That is so cool,” Bruce said from inside the suit.

“How long will it last?” T’Challa asked, helping the embarrassed Sam up.

“As long as I can concentrate on it.”

Steve nodded. “Okay, new plan.” He looked at the empty area where Wanda and Vision were cloaked. “Wanda, Vision, I leave the decision up between you two. Either you run or you destroy the stone.” He turned to Loki. “You need to stay hidden and out of the way and only focus on keeping them invisible.” Loki had a few problems with that but he nodded in agreement. “The rest of us take on Thanos and keep him busy.”

“For however short a time as you can,” Loki added pessimistically.

Rhodey landed a few feet away from where everyone else stood, Bucky came running through the trees and then slowed down when he saw the group, General Okoye came marching in with her spear at her side, and following her was the talking raccoon and Groot. “So, where is this terrible monster man that I’ve heard so much about?” the raccoon asked reloading his large gun, far too large for a little woodland creature to be handling.

Loki walked from the group and leaned up against a tree across from the area where Wanda and Vision were still at. He knew that they were still there, because if they had moved he would have felt it become harder to concentrate on keeping the cloaking field that he had projected up. No doubt Vision was trying to convince Wanda to destroy the stone again and Wanda was trying to-

Maybe about twenty feet away from where they all stood, a light blue portal opened up and out of it walked Thanos, standing strong and tall. Loki jumped behind the tree he had been leaning against to stay out of sight like Steve had ordered. Loki could feel the dreaded fear rise up in him but he tried to keep calm. “There’s your monster,” he said softly, perhaps too softly for anyone to hear, but they got the message.

Everyone charged at once heading towards the mad Titan who had all the Infinity Stones gleaming on his Gauntlet except for the Vision’s. They were no match for him. Bruce in his Hulk Buster suit was tossed aside like a toy. Thanos clenched his fist, the red Reality Stone glowing brightly, and Bruce was no longer solid as he passed through trees. It was only when he hit the ground that he became solid again. Thanos waved his Gauntlet around and both Sam and Rhodey fell to the ground, Sam’s pact and Rhodey’s suit were both disabled. Bucky, T’Challa, and General Okoye didn’t even make it up to Thanos before they were all thrown back twenty feet. Groot ran forward, the raccoon perched on his shoulder. Groot punched his branch limbs out, but Thanos easily grabbed both of them and yanked him and the raccoon to him and then he threw them both behind him. The dear Captain was the only one who made it all the way up to Thanos, who attempted to punch him down, but Steve caught his fist and held it back with all his might. It was an impressive feat to be sure, to see a mere mortal hold back someone like Thanos, but it did not last long. Thanos hit Steve with his free hand and Steve fell to the ground unconscious. 

The Avengers were down.

Thanos calmly walked away from the knocked out or slightly injured group of heroes and headed towards where Vision and Wanda were still cloaked and where Loki was hidden. Loki had to desperately try to keep his breathing normal, he didn’t want to give himself away. Thanos’s soulless eyes gazed around and seemed slightly confused. Thanos muttered to himself, “I sense the stone and yet, there is nothing.” He turned and was now facing Vision and Wanda head on and his back was to Loki.

The thought entered Loki’s mind in a heartbeat and before he could even begin to think of all the ways that this could go wrong, he had conjured up one more dagger. He would fail, but he had to try. He couldn’t just sit by, so close to the man who had overseen his daily torture, who had messed with his mind, who had attacked his and Thor’s people, and do nothing. 

Thanos muttered to himself again, “But they would not have had a small army waiting for me if the stone was not nearby. It makes me wonder…”

Loki silently stepped out from behind the tree, carefully watching where he stepped. 

He did not want to step on a branch and give himself away. 

The walk was slow.

There was no need to rush.

He stepped cautiously.

He was almost there.

Loki tightened his grip on his dagger and raised his hand over his head.

He was so close.

“I wonder, how long do your illusions last, Asgardian?”

Just as Loki was swinging his arm down to stab Thanos in the back, his arm was frozen by a ring of blue power. He quickly tried to retreat, but his arm was stuck in midair and he was stuck there too. Thanos slowly turned around, an almost pleased smile on his lips. Loki was terrified but he refused to show it, so he just glared up at the Titan. Thanos reached for Loki’s frozen arm and wrapped his large fingers around his wrist and forearm. The blue power disappeared and he continued speaking.  
“I have often wondered how the whole art of magic works.” He started to bend Loki’s arm back until Loki gasped in pain and let go of the dagger. Thanos smiled slightly again, amused. “Does it last till you grow tired? Till you are knocked unconscious? Till your death?” Thanos’s free hand, the one that wore the Infinity Gauntlet, suddenly moved up and closed itself around Loki’s neck.

Loki started panicking. 

_Oh Stars, I’m going to die._

Thanos let go of his arm and slowly raised Loki off the ground. Loki desperately tried to pry Thanos’s hand off of him, but it was pointless. Thanos’s fingers just squeezed tighter. It was getting harder and harder to breath; the breaths came in pained gasps. Tears came to Loki’s eyes and he couldn’t think to hold them back. But despite everything, he held fast onto the magic keeping Wanda and Vision cloaked. He would not let go of it. Thanos would just have to kill him.

For the first time since this whole mess started and Thor had sent him away, he understood why Thor had sent him away. Oh, he understood why, it was to protect him, but he understood the feeling you have when you do not care about what happens to yourself because all that matters is someone else. He had felt that with Thor of course, but…now he felt it with other people. _His friends._

He wouldn’t let Thanos think he had the last laugh. With the few breaths he had left, Loki whispered, “You…will never be…a god.” Thanos’s smug look vanished and his eyes gleamed dangerously. His grip tightened even more, if that was even possible. 

He couldn’t breathe. 

There was no more air coming into his lungs and he…everything was starting to…the pain in his chest was unbearable…air, he needed air…this certainly was the…worst way to…die…

Loki’s vision started to blur in and out and his grip on Thanos’s hand began to become slack. The cloak started to disappear. Wanda was standing in front of Vision, her red energy coming from both her hands, directly hitting the Mind Stone. Wanda was a teary eyed mess. Not only was she being forced to destroy the stone and therefore Vision, but she had to watch as Thanos attempted to choke the life out of Loki. Thanos half chuckled, seeing the cloak vanish. “I guess I no longer have a need for you, Asgardian.”

Thanos was seconds away from completely crushing Loki’s neck, but before he could someone fired a gun and hit him in the shoulder. A small burst of blood sprayed out and Thanos yelled out, more in frustration then in pain. A woman shouted, “Put him down, right now!”

_Wait…Natasha?_

Loki couldn’t turn his head to see but he could have sworn that that sounded like Natasha. Thanos looked to his right and glared at whoever the woman was who shot him. “You want him? Take him!” Thanos tossed Loki off in the direction of the woman and only two clear thoughts made it into Loki’s mind. The first was air, blessed air and the second was that he was going to knock into whoever his savoir was. 

And he did. He crashed into Natasha and they both landed on the ground hard. He was flat on his back, just trying to fill his pained lungs with all the air he had been denied. His entire neck was sore and starting to bruise but mostly it was his throat that hurt him. Natasha was next to him, getting on her hands and knees to prepare herself to get back up and fight the mad Titan. He looked over at the blonde ex-assassin with confusion and mild curiosity. “Red?” he asked, his voice a hoarse whisper and then he went into a burst of coughing.

Natasha glanced down at him and patted his shoulder, trying to be comforting. “Just breathe.” Loki did and he did not ask any more questions, but he still eyed her not understanding why she had saved him when she went out of her way to make it crystal clear that she would not save him. Natasha must have read his confusion. “Don’t make me regret it.” There was a new air between them now. They couldn’t just go back to when she had distrusted him or to when he had constantly made jabs at her. She had saved his life and he owed her. But what that meant for them moving on would have to wait.

Several feet from where they were, amongst the trees and tall grass, back in the clearing there was an explosion. A small concentrated one, but it had been loud and it still had kicked up the dust like explosions usually do.

_Vision._

“Stay here,” Natasha whispered, drawling her gun and slowly creeping away.

Loki was less than useless in his current state. No more magic using, his strength was drained, and even if he could stand he doubted that he would get two feet away before going into another coughing fit. He just stayed focused on breathing. “Loki,” someone whispered. He glanced in the direction that the voice had come from. It was Bucky, looking disheveled. He quickly walked over to the fallen trickster and knelt down next to him. “Ah, man,” he muttered giving Loki the once over. “That is a nasty bruise.”

“Yeah, I-” He started coughing again.

“Don’t strain yourself.”

At the same time they both heard Wanda scream, “No!” Loki was quickly trying to sit up but Bucky held him back.

“Whoa, man, whoa. Just take a breath.”

“We have to…help.”

Bucky nodded. “Fine. I’ll go and-”

“I’m going.” Despite how terrible he sounded, Loki still managed to have a bite in his tone that said there is no arguing, I’m coming too. Bucky sighed and pulled him to his feet. He kept his arm around him to support him and keep him on his feet. Normally Loki would have argued against that, stating that he could stand on his own, but given that basically everything hurt he was grateful.

They walked for a few moments, past thick trees until they came back to the clearing, where Natasha and Wanda both looked to be unconscious, Vision, who hadn’t been destroyed, was discarded to the side, and Thanos stood triumph with the glowing Mind Stone in his palm. In one quick motion, Thanos had place the last stone in the last spot on his Infinity Gauntlet. The Gauntlet glowed to life, rainbow light streaming off of it onto Thanos, who grimaced from the strong power surge that flowed through his body.

They had to do-storm clouds started growing darker and rumbling louder. And then there was several flashes of lightning. Thor flew in, determined to be the last minute hero. Before Thanos could do anything, whether it be throw Thor to the side or snap his fingers, Thor had made it up to him and had dug his axe into Thanos’s chest. Thanos cried out and fell to one knee. Loki had never see the mad Titan in such pain before and he realized how happy it made him feel. Thor now stood triumph and slowly pressed the axe in deeper still. Thanos winced and yelled again in agony. Thor shook his head at Thanos. “I told you, you will die for everything you have done.”

Loki thought that he was going to laugh. Was it possible? Was it over and done? Had they really done-? 

Thanos weakly shook his head and slightly smirked. “You should have gone for the head.”

All the fear came pouring back and Loki knew what was going to happen before Thor put the pieces together. Thor’s eyes gleamed with confusion and then worry. “Wait, what do you-?”

Thanos raised the hand wearing the Gauntlet and snapped his fingers.

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

_Author’s Note: So…I never want to see the words “creature” or “Outrider” ever again. Every time I turned around it seemed like I was using one or both of those words._

_But anyways…_

_The beginning of the next chapter will be the last part of the story that is directly based off of IW, then I go into my own AU. You have to remember, I wrote this during the summer of 2018. So this is not really based on Endgame at all, later chapters might have moments from it but... This is essentially its own thing now based on what I wanted to see in Endgame._

_There was no way I could write this story without doing a version of the opening sequence with Loki and Thanos. And as pissed off as I was that they killed Loki in the movie the scene was heartbreaking, so obviously because I am a heartless fan who likes to watch my favorite characters suffer, I loved it. I didn’t love that Loki died but I think you get the picture._

_So, tell me what you thought. Did you enjoy it? Did you like the epic battle that was written poorly? Did you like the Thor and Loki reunion? Did you like Natasha saving Loki? What was your favorite part? Okay, that’s enough questions. Thanks for reading. See ya later!_


	7. Chapter Six: I’m Here, but I Don’t Want to Be

_Author's Note: I know Shuri disappeared. I know Laura disappeared. I know Korg did not disappear. I know Captain Marvel saved Tony and Nebula. I know all of this. But now this is where I diverge from canon. (This story was written before Avengers Endgame even started its promoting campaign. From here on out, this is an extreme "else world's" story.) Okay? Thank you._

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

What had just happened, could not have just happened.

And yet, there was Thanos, still down on one knee, wincing from the pain of Thor’s axe deep in his chest, looking slightly smug proving that it had happened. He had snapped his fingers. The Infinity Gauntlet had become burnt and cracked in places along where the stones were placed. After all of that intense amount of power that had surged through the Gauntlet, it was amazing that the whole thing hadn’t broken into a million little pieces of gold metal.

Thor shouted again, “What did you just do?” Thanos didn’t answer. He just smiled and eyed Thor with the same look an overbearing parent does when glancing at an annoying child. Then he formed another blue portal behind him and disappeared through it, Thor’s bloodied axe fell to the ground with a soft thump.

It had become eerily quiet just before Thanos had arrived, but now it was worse. Now there was an anxious, static feeling in the air accompanied by an overwhelming sense of dread. It had become a waiting game. How long till Thanos’s action took effect? The dear Captain slowly stumbled into the clearing, his face still covered in blood from his resent encounter with Corvus Glaive. He met eyes with Thor, who was standing where Thanos had been a second ago looking lost. Then he met eyes with Bucky, who still was holding up the completely drained Loki. Thor saw Steve’s gaze shift from looking at him to looking behind him and turned around. He saw Loki and instantly started jogging over with that classic worried look of his written all over his face.

“Loki? My God, what happened to you?” Thor reached out, grabbing Loki by the shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Loki whispered, trying not to go into another coughing fit.

Bucky scoffed slightly and shook his head. “Boy, if I had a bruise that looked that bad, I wouldn’t be fine, but I guess you-” He suddenly stopped talking and his eyes widened as he stared down at his right hand, the flesh and bone one. It was slowly starting to disintegrate into tiny bits of what looked like dust or ash. He glanced up at the dear Captain. “Steve?” All of Bucky’s confusion and fear were laced through that one word and then he completely vanished, the dust blowing away in the light breeze.

Loki gasped, not only because the man was completely gone but because Bucky had been supporting all of his weight. He started to fall down, but Thor was right by his side and caught him. He pulled him close to him as they both stared where Bucky had been. Steve had rushed over and stared too. The dear Captain was breathing deeply and he obviously did not understand. He appeared so lost. It was almost frightening to see the brave soldier look so helpless. Loki shook his head in disbelief.

This _could not_ be happening.

But it was and it was far from over. 

Loki checked his own hands, so far he was still here and solid and Thor’s tight grip around him told him that his brother was still here as well. _Wanda._ He had to make sure Wanda was okay. He spotted Vision lying flat on his back underneath a tree nearby the clearing, Wanda was on her knees next to him. At first when he had seen Vision still in one piece, he had thought that he was still alive. But then Thanos placed the Vision’s stone in his Gauntlet. Now he could tell that the intelligent and kind android was gone. He was void of all color except for a deathly dark gray and his artificial eyes no longer had that remarkable spark of life that they once had.

Loki was trying to make his legs work and move away from Thor’s protective grip to the poor crying girl next to Vision. Thor was saying something. Probably asking him what he was doing or where he was going, but Loki didn’t hear him. It was like he was in a hypnotic daze and all that mattered was ensuring that the people closest to him were okay. Bucky and Vision were gone and Thor was fine for now. That meant his priorities were on Wanda, Bruce, and the kind king of Wakanda.

Somehow he had broken away from Thor and made it to Wanda and Vision. Thank the stars that they were only a few steps away, because Loki wasn’t sure if he would be able to go much further than that. He dropped to his knees right next to the dead Vision and looked at Wanda. She was so upset. Her flawless raven eyes were quickly becoming red rimmed from all the tears and she looked as if she was on the verge of screaming. Nobody would blame her if she did. 

There was nothing he could say, nothing that would bring about any kind of comfort. Nothing that would bring her Vision back to life. “I’m so sorry, Wanda. I…” He started coughing again and he had to rub his throat slightly because of the pain the coughing had caused.

Wanda stared at Vision’s face and she said in a hollow voice, “Thanos didn’t even think twice about it. He just came up and plucked the stone from his head and tossed him aside like he was nothing.” He knew what it was like to lose those that you love the most in this world and his heart bled for her. He was going to try and say something comforting, even though he knew it was a moot point, when he saw that she was starting vanish in the same way that Bucky had.

“No,” he whispered.

She looked up from Vision to meet his eyes. She was afraid and still reeling from the resent heartbreak, but the emotion that stood out in her was some sort of determination. It was like the kind that a teacher has when they are about to confront a group of misbehaving students. It was also strong. “Don’t blame yourself.”

Loki squinted his eyes in confusion. “What?”

But she didn’t repeat herself. She didn’t have time to. Wanda disappeared and blew away in the same manner as Bucky had. 

Loki shook his head, almost frantically, not believing it. He suddenly started feeling light headed. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the blood loss or because he was borderline hyperventilating. The familiar strong grip was on his shoulders again and Thor was telling him that he needed to breathe normally. He shook his head again. He couldn’t think past the thought that none of this could really be happening. It was impossible. It had to be. Or he hadn’t been saved by Natasha. Thanos had cracked his neck like a walnut and this was Hell. But just like all those years ago when he had first had the idea in his shadowy cold cell, that he was in Hell instead of still being in the plane of living, a creeping feeling started in his stomach that told him that this was real.

This _was_ real.

It…it was…this was really…

_Oh, stars no._

…

The entire day had in all reality been slow, it just felt fast because the plan kept changing. First it was save the Asgardians, then it was fight Thanos, then it was convince Strange and Stark to believe him and Bruce, then it was fight the members of the Black Order, and then and then and then. So on and so forth, until finally he was here in Wakanda fighting alongside his newfound friends and his brother. But after the snap the hours just seemed to fly by. A lot had happened he supposed. 

Vision, Bucky, and Wanda were not the only ones who were gone: T’Challa, Sam, and Thor’s new friend Groot all had slowly turned to dust and vanished completely. The rest of the group collected themselves up and left the wooded area to head back to the field and then Shuri’s lab. The dear Captain carried Vision’s lifeless body and Thor had his arm around Loki, helping him to walk. The Outriders were vanquished but now it felt like a hollow victory. The remaining Wakandan warriors and Dora Milaje members all stood in a daze on the field. Half of them were gone.

Despite the shock that no doubt everyone was feeling, priority number one was getting all the wounded to Shuri’s lab. And there were a lot of wounded. If you took away all of the warriors and Dora Milaje and just took in account their little group, they had several bruises, cuts, scrapes, a few fractured bones, and a handful of mild concussions. They must have been a sight: the slightly broken survivors who were all shell shocked by what they had witnessed. No order had been given but everyone started migrating back to the city and Shuri’s lab and when they were still walking through the yellowed field, the preppy girl greeted them. 

“You’re alive. Good. I thought that-” She saw Vision. “Oh no…” She walked closer to Steve carrying the now gray android. She shook her head, deeply saddened and then suddenly her head popped up. She glanced around the group with a wild scared look in her eye. “Where’s T’Challa?” 

Nobody answered her with words, but the dear Captain’s deep sigh, M’Baku’s slight dip of his head downwards, and General Okoye’s soft, “Shuri…” were enough for the girl to understand that her brother was gone. 

“No,” she said, tearing up. She took several steps away from the group and only General Okoye made an attempt to calm her.

“Shuri, listen to me.”

“No, I don’t believe you!” She started to run but the General caught her arm and pulled her into a tight almost motherly embrace. Shuri broke down right then and there, loudly sobbing into the other woman’s shoulder. And the fierce General kept her tears at bay but only barely. Despite Shuri’s great intellect and ability with technology, she was still just a child. A child who had lost her brother.

It wasn’t fair.

Eventually, General Okoye calmed the girl enough for her to break from their embrace and walk with the girl with her arm protectively around her shoulders. The group all wearily continued across the field and to the sleek black building that held Shuri’s lab. And to think that Loki and their smaller group had all gone there less than two hours ago. Time was being cruel again. 

The severely wounded, the unconscious, were set down on the wonderfully crafted gray tables, while everyone else sat to the sidelines. The dear Captain who had so much dried blood on his face and a still bleeding nose said that he wished to have a conference with all those who were willing. Of course. They all needed to plan their next move. They were the Avengers after all, despite their feelings of devastation they needed to keep their level heads about them. M’Baku, Rhodey, Bruce, who was out of the Hulk Buster suit with only a few minor bruises, and Natasha all stood up and went with Steve to regroup. Shuri went around with a handful of small metal beads, placing them on the injured warriors, and then activated them with her big beaded bracelet. The beads were some sort of healing technology. Shuri told General Okoye, “You should go with them.”

The General blinked a few times, unsure if that was a good idea. “You will be alright?”

Shuri nodded with no sense of being sincere. “I will keep busy, helping to heal the wounded. I will be fine.”

General Okoye frowned but bowed her head. “Yes, my Princess.” And with that she left.

Loki and Thor sat to the sidelines, the talking raccoon close by. “I guess…” Loki started and then stopped to softly cough. “We should go, too.”

Thor turned to him and looked at him like he was crazy. “What? No. You are staying right here and getting yourself fixed up. I know you. You used too much of your magic and now you are drained and can’t heal yourself.”

“Thor…”

“And I can’t stand seeing the sight of you hurt.”

“The others…they were hurt…they didn’t stay…to be healed.” Damn, he really sounded terrible didn’t he?

The raccoon who was standing off to their right with his arms crossed scoffed, “Those guys didn’t have a giant black and blue bruise on their neck, man. They also could speak without sounding like a sad frog.” The raccoon was an interesting blunt thing, wasn’t he? “But I think I might go and see what they’re talkin’ about. See what our next move is. See how we track the monster man down.”

Loki scoffed, but then started coughing again. Thor gently patted him on the back. Thor turned to the raccoon. “Go, my friend. I will be here, with my brother.”

Shuri glanced over at the two with a sad shine about her eyes and then quickly went back to what she was working on. Loki felt himself starting to feel guilty for still having Thor at his side. Here there was this poor girl who had lost her brother and it was like he was showing off because he still had his. Obviously he wasn’t, but at this point Loki was feeling guilty for just about anything. And on top of this new guilt, he felt that he did not deserve Thor’s deep affection and attention.

No. 

He didn’t deserve it. 

He had known about Thanos and his quest to find the stones and he never told anyone. Not when he was brought back to Asgard, not when he was locked away in the dungeons, not when he was king for almost four years. He might have been a good, fair king that helped allow Asgard to prosper, who did not take too much advantage of the power of the throne, but he could have warned the people or somebody. But no. He just kept his mouth closed and naively and probably hopefully thought that Thanos would forget about him and would never gain all six Infinity Stones. They could have had all this time to plan, to prepare, but instead they were all blindsided by the ruthless power of Thanos even without all the stones.

_“Don’t blame yourself.”_ Those were Wanda’s last words and now they made sense. She must have been in his head or she just knew him that well after so short a period of time. She knew that he would blame himself for this failure and the loss of his friends and the others. But how could he not blame himself? How could anyone not blame him for all of this? Even Thor? If it had come to light that someone else had known about Thanos and his insane plan for all this time, they would be just as guilty as the mad Titan.  
He was guilty and he certainly didn’t deserve Thor’s soft and affectionate filled gazes.

He rubbed his head and muttered, “For star’s sake…if you aren’t going to allow-allow me to go then…at least you should go.” 

“Brother, I am not leaving-” 

“You need to be a part of their planning. I’m fine.” 

“Loki-” 

“ _Just go_.” His tone had a more bitter bite then what he had intended, but Thor seemed to finally get the message. 

“…Well, if you’re sure you will be alright.” 

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Thor nodded quietly and stood up from where he sat. The muscular man seemed sad and confused.

_I can’t do one damn thing right._

Loki just wanted Thor to go and help the others because they deserved to have Thor be at their little regrouping conference and he didn’t deserve to have him by his side. He didn’t mean to make it come across that he did not want Thor around. He did. With all of his heart, he wanted his brother to be with him and even comfort him, it was just…he didn’t _deserve_ it.

“I’ll be back later and tell you what we talk about. Okay?” Thor said, his eyes still sad and confused.

Loki nodded weakly. “Fine.” With that Thor and the raccoon both left Shuri’s lab, leaving Loki to sit by himself and dwell in his own self-loathing and guilt. After all those who were unconscious were taken care of, Shuri started making her way around to the ones sitting to the sidelines. She approached Loki first, to which he sent her away to take care of the others first. There were so many others. Maybe about forty or so. She needed to help her people first before the man who knew and did nothing for years. He didn’t deserve to be healed up by the sweet girl who had lost her brother because of him.

About twenty or thirty minutes later, Shuri came back to him. “You are all that is left.” He glanced up at the girl and then around the room. There were only a handful of the warriors and Dora Milaje members still in the room, either still being healed or just resting up. He tried to tell her he was fine, because he was holding fast to his belief that he shouldn’t be healed. But Shuri insisted, “You are not fine. I’m fixing you up whether you like it or not.”

Loki sighed and followed her to an empty gray table. She motioned to the table and he figured that meant, “get on it”, so he did. He laid on the table, taking note how surprisingly comfortable it was for being a hard slab of metal. She told him to lay on his uninjured side so she could put the metal beads on the three painful cuts. He did what he was told and allowed her to put the beads on his injury, about three beads on each cut. She waved her bracelet over them and they all glowed a faint blue. He didn’t understand the science of the metal beads but at this point he didn’t care. Then she got another handful of the beads and was preparing to put them on his neck but he shook his head. “Just the side. The neck is fine.”

“ _Please_ , it is not.”

“It’s fine.”

Shuri gave up arguing and left him alone to check on the others that were still being healed up. It had taken a little less than an hour for the beads to heal his side as good as new. He had to once again be impressed by Shuri’s and Wakanda’s science advances, they were just as good as his magic. He reached for his side and grabbed up all of the beads in his hand. He then sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table. Shuri was off in the corner talking with an older African woman, whose white hair was in braids similar to Shuri’s. The older woman had a regal and elegant appearance that one could not explain and she appeared to be deeply saddened. 

Shuri noticed Loki sitting up and left the woman to approach him. “All better, then?” she asked as she took the beads away from him.

“Yes. Thank you.” He glanced over at the white haired woman. Shuri caught his glance.

“That is Ramonda, my mother. She was with the rest of the people when T’Challa had the city evacuated. I am just thankful that she is still here.” There was a slight crack in her voice when she said she was thankful that her mother was still here. Loki nodded solemnly. T’Challa had spoken about his and Shuri’s father in the past tense, no doubt he was gone. And now T’Challa…besides from the people of Wakanda, the only family Shuri probably had was her mother. And all her mother had was Shuri.

He was libel to start getting emotional if he stayed here with the mother and daughter, so he decided he would leave and go search for Thor and the others. Thor had never come back so the little regrouping conference must still be going on. He was slowly making his way through the beautiful, shiny halls with their projections on the walls when he could hear the remaining Avengers, General Okoye, and M’Baku all talking in an opened room. “Talking” was being nice.

“All I asked was, do we even understand what has happened? I did not need the sarcasm,” M’Baku snapped. Loki approached the doorway leading to the slick black room with cushy chairs, but he stayed out of view so he could listen without being seen.

“And I told you,” Natasha snapped back. “On a scientific level not really, on a crazy magic-god level yes.”

“And we’re back to the sarcasm,” M’Baku grumbled.

“The real question we need to be asking ourselves is not what is happening or do we understand what is happening, but what do we do now?” That was Rhodey. It was one of the few times since Loki had met the War Machine that he heard him with a take charge tone.

“What can we do?” Steve asked miserably. “According to the news, people have disappeared all over the world and I doubt that it stopped after that. We…we need all communications back online and we need to prepare to help where we are needed.” There was a short moment of silence, no doubt someone or maybe everyone was eyeing the dear Captain with a look of confusion. “There is going to be mass panic. Hysteria. We need to be there to help calm the public.”

“Calming people down? So, what, we’re shrinks now?” At first Loki didn’t recognize the voice but then he realized it was the raccoon.

“Calm the public so there is not a wave of panic induced crime,” Steve reiterated.

“And what of Thanos?” Thor asked, his gruff voice unreadable. “We just let him go and do nothing to search for him?”

“And if we did, then what?” Natasha asked sounding lower than ever. “With all of the people we had to fight we still lost…now we are only half of that.”

“And I will not allow any more Wakandan lives to be sacrificed in this endeavor,” M’Baku said firmly.

General Okoye whispered, “You are not the King of Wakanda. You cannot make that decision.”

“Tell me General, if these people here all knew the exact location of Thanos and had a way to get there, would you rally your Dora Milaje and go to have the rest of them taken away from you?”

The General was silent. That probably meant she wouldn’t. It was quiet all around the room for a moment before Bruce sighed and said, “So, the plan is to help the remaining people on Earth to prevent mass hysteria.”

“Yes,” Steve said quietly.

Natasha sighed, “Guess we should call Clint and Scott to help. See if they’re even…still with us.”

“Excuse me,” the raccoon started, “but I thought you people were “The Avengers” not “The Public Controllers”.” Had Loki not been in a black and depressed mood, he might have half smirked at that comment.

“What’s your point?” Rhodey asked.

“My point is you should be doing what the god man said. You should be huntin’ Thanos down and ya know, avenging the people you lost.” The raccoon brought up a valid point, as did the dear Captain. It was something that needed to be carefully thought over and discussed.

Instead Rhodey scoffed, “Why is he even here? He’s not a part of-”

“Of what? Your stupid band of super-heroes?” That raccoon was feisty.

It seemed like the group would be “talking” for a while and Loki grew tired of standing by the doorway anyways. He wanted to go somewhere and be alone. Alone. What an interesting concept. Being alone, a loner, was a painful existence but now he honestly did not know which was worse: being alone with no friends and no chance of acceptance or having friends that actually cared about you that were stolen away much too soon. Too soon. What made _this_ moment too soon? His own words came back to haunt him: _“This day, the next, a hundred years, it’s nothing. It’s a heartbeat. You’ll never be ready.”_

He had said that to Thor in reference to Jane Foster’s fleeting mortal life, but now he realized it was meant for him as well. Even if Wanda, Vision, Bucky, and T’Challa were still here, he would never be ready for their deaths. He had only just met them and already he had clung to them and acted like he had known them for years.

He needed to walk away from the doorway and go somewhere else, anywhere else, now. He stepped away and went back in the direction he had come, but turned down a different corridor instead of going straight back to Shuri’s lab. Millions of lives had been lost, not just his first friends and he knew that, but…it was so easy to just focus on the small picture. And the small picture was only the people who were lost in Wakanda. And he couldn’t stop thinking about them all.

Half of the remaining Wakandan warriors and Dora Milaje members. They all had been brave and steadfast in their fighting against the Outriders. And for only having swords and spears against a vicious alien race, they held their own.

He continued walking down this new corridor until he came to an area where he had to turn left or right. He went to the left and was walking alongside a row of giant windows looking out to the city. Those who were evacuated were starting to slowly come back, so the city was more alive then what it had been when he and the others had arrived.

Groot, the odd tree creature. He knew virtually nothing about him, only that he was a new friend of Thor’s and that he had shown no fear when facing Thanos. That was enough to make him respect him.

He paused at one of the windows to stare out of it. He could feel the lazy half setting sun beat down on him through the glass, but he didn’t care.

Sam Wilson, the man with the winged jet pact. Loki had said he was annoying, but he was a good soldier and fighter and a force to be reckoned with.

The sun was a bright yellow orange ball in the sky. It would not be too much longer till it was dusk. Then this day would finally be over.

T’Challa, King of Wakanda and the Black Panther. A calm, kind, and peace seeking king who was prepared for the battle at a moment’s notice. And if he held any ill will against Loki he had never said so, in fact he had been generous enough to open his kingdom up to the Asgardian refugees.

He had to stop thinking about these losses. There was no point in tormenting himself over something that could not be changed. But…he probably deserved the torment too.

Bucky Barnes, the metal armed man who knew what it was like to have your mind stolen away and be seen as the villain. The deep understanding that flashed in his eyes and his abilities as a fighter made him one of the few people that Loki felt like he could actually connect with.

This was too hard, too much. Loki kept walking, further down the hall, trying to escape his own cursed thoughts. But he couldn’t get away.

The Vision, the extraordinary android with the Mind Stone set in his forehead. Artificial or not, he was a wise individual, whose easy acceptance not only shocked Loki but probably was what turned the other Avengers to trust him.

Now it was like he was frantically running away, but the thoughts were internal and he could not run from the internal. There was an opened door off to the left that he didn’t even hesitate in going in. Not a soul was in there. That was good. The room had the same décor as the whole building and no doubt the whole city, with elegantly crafted furniture throughout the room, but unlike most of the rooms it was one of the few to not have any windows. He didn’t really pay much attention to any of it, he just shut the door behind him and walked to the center of the room.

Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. The friend and sister he never realized he had wanted. She was young and powerful and was full of mischievous spunk. She had seen his whole life and had said that she wanted to know him better. She did not mock, she did not run away. She wanted to know _him_. And now she was gone, in a flash, along with the others.

It had been a couple of hours since the end of the battle and his magic had slowly started to come back along with his strength. Healing always took the most amount of strength and concentration and if he really wanted to, he could have healed his bruise right here and now, that is how much his magic was back. But he didn’t want to. The thought never even crossed his mind. 

All Loki knew was that he was in the middle of this grand little sitting room feeling the weight of guilt, self-loathing, and most of all loss. And then he clenched both fists and all the furniture, a couch, three wooden chairs, a small polished table, and two yellow lamps, flew back away from him crashing into the walls. Both lamps broke to pieces the second they made impact and two of the chairs lost two of their legs. Everything else just slammed into the walls and then fell to the ground with loud crashes. It wasn’t enough. He still had so much anger and pain locked all up in his heart and in his mind and he was sick of not reacting.

He clenched his fists together again, feeling his fingernails bite into his palms, and squeezed his eyes shut. All the fury and rage at Thanos, at himself, at the fact that his friends were lost was unleashed. And his magic tore that room apart. He hadn’t reacted like this since the news of his mother’s death was given to him. This was not that different from then, the little acceptance that he got was snatched from him and all because of his…his…he couldn’t think of the right word.

_Because of me. Me. That is a good enough word._

His anger started to simmer down, leaving only depression and a deep emptiness. And of course the guilt. The guilt would never go away. It would just be a remaining presence that it was his fault and it would stay and consume him. He slowly unclenched his fists, both hands were shaking from the pain that his nails had inflicted, and he opened his teary green eyes and saw all the damage he had caused.

Everything was in pieces now. Shattered bulb shards from the lamps, splintered wood from the table and chairs, and feathers from the couch cushions were all scattered on the floor. It was like the whole room had been hit by a bomb or a whirlwind. A few pieces of table or maybe it was the chair had been hit with enough force to be jammed into the walls. The wood just sat there protruding from the black and gray painted wall. Loki sighed. What had any of this accomplished? He didn’t feel like he was going to scream anymore. Great. But he had completely destroyed a room and he had drained himself of some of him powers. And for what? For nothing.

He stepped over a chair leg and a torn open couch cushion and went to the wall across from the shut door, there was a shard of glass and a hunk of wood protruding from that too. He leaned his back against the wall, slid down to the floor, and curled his legs to his chest. He wanted someone to tell him everything would be alright, even though it obviously wouldn’t be, and at the same time he knew he did not deserve to have somebody waste their time consoling him. Those tears in his eyes were threatening to spill over. 

Loki didn’t hear the door creak open but he did hear a voice mumble, “Holy shit…” His head popped up and he saw that the talking raccoon had walked in and was looking around at the destruction in an almost speechless kind of way. “Well, this is intense.”

Loki quickly wiped at his eyes and didn’t know how to even try to explain himself. “What do…why are you…?”

Thankfully, the raccoon knew the answer to his poorly spoken question. “Ah, your brother wanted to talk to you. Although, now I’m thinking that wasn’t such a good idea.” The raccoon walked in further, watching where he stepped so not to cut his foot or get a sliver. “Anyways, he went searching for you and I said I would help him out since this place is so freakin’ big and ah, yeah.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“No. I assume it is to get you to get your neck healed up by that kid…” The regrouping conference must have been over and Thor must have gone to Shuri’s lab and seen that he wasn’t there. Shuri would have told him that he refused to have her put the beads placed on his throat and neck. And classic Thor would get all worried and overprotective for no reason. The raccoon picked up one of the couch cushions that wasn’t completely destroyed and threw it to the ground about three feet away from Loki. “We never met officially before. I’m Rocket.” He sat down on the cushion.

“Loki.”

“Yeah, I know. You, um, you alright?” Rocket asked the question in a way that made Loki think that he regretted asking it in the first place. He knew that it was a dumb and obvious question and yet he felt obligated to ask it.

Loki should have been nice about or at least tried, but now was the time to continue the façade. To be the God of Mischief and to be better than everyone else. “Oh, I’m absolutely excellent. I only just lost basically all of the friends that I had. My _first_ friends.” And as quickly as he had put on the mask of sarcasm it had started to fade. “They were the brave heroic ones, the ones that deserve to live, and yet here I am alive and they’re all just…gone.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.”

Loki glanced up at the raccoon and noticed his own sadness. “You lost your tree friend.”

Rocket nodded and sighed, “Groot. Yeah. He’s been dead before, but…I don’t know. It still hurts…” Wasn’t that the truth? “Least you got your brother. Bet there are some people out there in the universe that lost everybody.”

Loki shrugged, “True, but…it still…” He couldn’t begin to try and explain all the emotions he was feeling right now. And even if he could, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Opening himself up was what made this all so much more painful than it had to be. The last thing he needed was to befriend someone else and then turn around and lose them too. But he already started asking a question that could lead to conversation and conversation could lead to friendship. “You have others out there, then?”

“Yeah, this dumb little group I’m in called the Guardians of the Galaxy. Quill, Drax, Gamora, Mantis…Bunch of morons. But they’re my morons…” Rocket was quiet for a moment before saying, “What are the odds that they would all disappear? A few of them are still out there I know it.” It was like he was trying to convince himself that what he had said was true.

All Loki could do was blink and wonder if he had heard the raccoon correctly. “Did you say Gamora?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“She wouldn’t happen to be a green skinned woman, with a step-sister named Nebula?”

Now it was Rocket’s turn to blink. “Uh, yeah.”

“And she’s step-daughter to Thanos?”

“Are you psychic or something?”

“ _Hardly_. It’s just…I used to know Nebula and she would speak about her step-sister in an ill manner.” “Ill manner” was being nice. The way that Nebula had spoken about Gamora, the few times she did, it was in a spiteful and loathing way. He had never met Gamora face to face but he had caught glimpses here and there. And he had to wonder how did the, according to Nebula, favorite daughter of Thanos end up with a group that at least two of its members were willing to fight Thanos.

Rocket said, “You knew the blue chick?” Loki nodded. “Hmm. What are the odds that two people who have never met before would know or know of two other people?”

“ _People?_ ” Loki had said it before he could stop himself.

Rocket growled, “ _Fine_. What are the odds that a mangy little beast and a guy who’s acting like an ass even though I’m just trying to be nice, who have never met before would know or know of two other people?”

_Well, obviously I offended him._

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to insult, I just…” he took in a deep breath, “No. There is no excuse. Stars, I…I hate being made to feel like less than others and here I am doing it. So, I am sorry.”

Rocket crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Loki. “How could you be made to feel like less than others? I saw you on the field. You’re good with the knives. And you’re the tall, dark, and handsome type. Girls are probably all over you.”

Loki half laughed, half scoffed, “ _Hardly_.” Rocket raised his eyebrows, wanting an explanation. And despite the fact that Loki knew this was treading dangerously close to opening himself up again he was willing to give the raccoon the explanation he was seeking. “I’ve always been, I’ve always felt like I was less than Thor. That I could never be his equal. It’s all I ever truly wanted. To be acknowledged in the same way as he was for his gifts and abilities. It’s…it’s not important anymore.” He had stopped himself before going too much further. He couldn’t go on without completely falling apart-

“Why were you pushing your brother away earlier?”

“I wasn’t-” He glanced up at Rocket and met his dark brown black eyes. Loki hadn’t even said the whole lie yet and the raccoon already knew it was a lie. Not only was Rocket feisty, but he had a sharp perceptiveness to him. If Loki hadn’t been so broken from this day he probably would have continued with the lie, but as effortless as lies came to him, he was tired of them. “Because I don’t deserve his affections. Or anyone’s for that matter. I should just stop trying and just-just die alone somewhere.”

Rocket stared at him for a few seconds before rubbing his forehead in a tired way and sighed, “Oh boy…” He shook his head. “You and your brother really _do_ have issues. Whole time Groot and I were traveling with the guy all he kept talkin’ about was how he had survived the encounter with Thanos so he could kill the purple chinned jerk, like it was his destiny or something. And then he went on and on about you and how if it turned out that you hadn’t made it and he lost you…boy. Kinda got scary there for a second.”

Loki didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you idiot, that if you died he would go completely ballistic. And here you are crying how you don’t deserve his love or whatever. Is it because you people are from this Asgard place that makes you both so damn dramatic?”

That was a good question. One that he didn’t have an answer for. He could only imagine Thor going “ballistic” at his loss. It shouldn’t have been surprising because Thor apparently cared about him no matter what he did, but for some reason it did. He truly did not think that highly of himself at all, did he? Then the gruff, muscular, short haired man that Loki was thinking about stepped hesitantly into the room and spotted both Loki and Rocket. “Loki,” Thor started and then he stopped and examined the room with wide worried eyes. “Brother?”

Loki started to open his mouth to explain but Rocket cut him off. “Well, I should leave and let you two discuss your family problems.” He stood from the couch cushion and started to leave, again he carefully watched his step to avoid stepping on something sharp. When he was past Thor and almost out the door he turned back around. “Loki, you’re okay.” Loki blinked at that not really sure what to say. Rocket turned back to leave but before he did he told Thor, “Also your brother has got some major self-esteem issues and a massive guilt complex. Good luck with that.” And then the odd raccoon was gone.

Loki could feel Thor’s concerned gaze hit him, but he did not look up to meet it. Thor sighed and started to walk closer. “Bruce told me the events of both of your days. He said you had started to become friends with some of the people who, uh, well…” Loki took a deep breath but didn’t answer. Thor stepped over some of the discarded furniture and ended up sitting on the floor next to Loki. He placed his strong hand on Loki’s shoulder. That caused Loki to finally turn and meet his gaze. “Brother, I am _so_ sorry.”

Loki paused for one second before asking, “ _Why?_ ”

Thor blinked in confusion. “What?”

Loki shook his head and felt the tears come back to his eyes. He whispered, “I don’t understand you. Or-or Bruce or Wanda or anyone who started to trust me. You should not trust me. You should not care.” His voice was starting to crack. “I am and will always be a monster and y-you should hate me. You should-”

Thor didn’t hesitate in pulling Loki into a tight hug. Loki completely froze at the feeling of Thor’s arms wrapped tightly around him. “Even after everything that has happened, I could never hate you, brother. You hear me? Never. And you are not a monster, you never were one and you never will be one.”

And then Loki completely broke down.

Every emotion from every fiber of his entire being just poured out of him and before he knew it he had his own arms around Thor, clinging to him like his life depended on it, and he was sobbing into his shoulder. This wasn’t just because of his friends’ loss or his never ceasing guilt, it was _everything_. The stomach clenching fear, the miserable feeling of the loss of Thor that he had sent the whole day hiding, the selfish relief that his brother was in fact alive, the deep dark and consuming depression and emptiness.

It had all been there just beyond the thin veil of sarcasm, mischief, and the egotistical demeanor, and even though he would let others sometimes see through the cracks of his disguise, this was the first time in a while that he let anyone see his true self, the utter mess that he was. And in doing so, he made himself feel weak and ashamed that he couldn’t keep it together. Loki held himself to an impossible standard that when he failed to meet it, which was quite often, it was just another reason confirming his self-loathing.  
But Thor did not find his display of emotions as weak and pathetic. He just held him tighter as if he was trying to protect him from his internal conflict.

_You don’t deserve his comforting._

But Loki couldn’t make himself pull away from his brother’s embrace.

_So damn weak…_

If he could not punish himself by denying Thor’s affections then he would just have to do it vocally. “It’s my fault,” he murmured. “It’s all my fault. I knew about Thanos and his plan and I did nothing.”

Thor patted his back in a sympathetic manner. “Loki, you’re not the one who snapped his fingers and erased half of the universe.”

“But I knew and I should have done something.”

Thor sighed, perhaps realizing that he was getting nowhere this way. “Alright, fine. Why did you not say anything?”

Because when he first came back to Asgard he was still under Thanos’s spell and blamed Odin for everything. Because he was arrogant enough to think that Thanos would never gain all the stones and be able to manipulate their power. Because he had naïvely hoped that Thanos would lose to someone else. But Loki didn’t say any of those excuses, instead he said one that even surprised him. “Because I knew if I did we would have to go after him and the idea of confronting him…” He started shaking, more then what he already was.

“Brother?” Thor asked softly.

“He scares the hell out of me, okay? And after my failure in New York, who knew what his plans were for me. And I couldn’t-I can’t-”

“Shh. It’s okay.” And just like in the dark world, Thor’s words filled him with some sort of comfort that everything was okay. So he just stopped talking and went back to crying, although this time his sobs were silent like those of an abandoned and unloved child. “Loki, I doubt that you were the only person in the whole universe who knew of Thanos’s plan. You cannot put this all on your shoulders. It is not your fault.”

Loki almost believed that. He wanted to believe it, but…he just couldn’t. Thor just didn’t understand. If he knew everything he wouldn’t be so willing to comfort him.

What Loki didn’t understand was if Thor knew _everything_ he would have held his brother closer still and vowed to murder the Titan who had dared to lay a finger on his brother.

…

Bruce sat at a smoothly polished silver table that was in the middle of a dimly lit room, facing a rather large window. It was funny how this place was filled with large windows. He just sat there staring out of the window in a sort of exhausted trance. The sun had set by now and the already dazzling city had come to life with thousands of white and golden lights. Bruce was vaguely aware of the spectacle but mostly he was just staring in a thoughtless type of way. The events of the day had taken its toll on him and the rest of the team. At the very least the events were stressful, at the most world halting intense. The sting of failure was heavy on everyone, Bruce knew that, but it was obviously was affecting others more than the rest. Even without having a PhD in psychology, he could see that.

He knew Natasha well enough to see that she was hurting beneath her toughness. More then what she would let on and more than the remaining Avengers. And it was clear that the poor genius girl, Shuri, was taking the loss of her brother incredibly hard. But the one that actually frightened him, was Loki. The always wisecracking, trickster god had fallen deafeningly silent. Bruce had seen him when they all had been in Shuri’s lab just before Steve had called together their little meeting. The bruised and bloodied man just sat there staring hopelessly at the floor, Thor close at his side. It truly was a frightening sight. Thor and Thor’s new friend, Rocket Raccoon, had gone searching for Loki when their meeting had broken up and they found out that Loki had left Shuri’s lab without having his neck and throat healed up.

He probably should’ve helped them, but he was just so zonked. All he wanted to do was take a whole bottle of aspirin and drift to a restful sleep. Instead he just stared out the window waiting for Natasha to come back into the room. She was with Steve calling Clint Barton and whoever this Scott “Ant-Man” person was. Bruce knew the importance of ensuring that there weren’t mass panic induced riots all over the globe because of what had happened, but…he had to agree with Thor and the raccoon: They should be hunting down Thanos or at the very least be finding a way to reverse the damage that had been done.

The former redhead walked in and put her hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at her. “Hey,” she whispered.

“Hey. Did you call Clint? Is he okay? And the other guy?”

Natasha sat down next to him and didn’t meet his gaze. “Clint’s alive, but all three of his kids disappeared.” Bruce sighed and rubbed his pounding temples. It shouldn’t have been a shock anymore. All of this loss. But it was. Every single time it was like a punch in the stomach. “He has to get Laura somewhere safe and then he said he would come and help us out. He said he would pick up Scott.”

“So, he’s alive too then?”

“Yeah. I think he lost a few people, but not his daughter. That’s good.”

“Yes,” Bruce nodded in agreement. He looked at the blonde woman sitting before him and saw the deep well of sadness that was written all over her face. “Nat.” 

She sniffed and looked up at him. “Yeah?”

What were the right words to say to someone who lost members of their team? Not just members of their team, members of their “adoptive” family. There were no right words or right actions, but Bruce thought he found something that could work. He reached for her hand and held it in his own. “Natasha, this all, well, it sucks. But there is still hope. As long as there are people out there who are willing to stand up against people like Thanos, we’ll always win. And I don’t know how long this will last, but there has to be a way to figure this out.”

Natasha seemed to relax slightly and the sadness seemed to dial itself back a bit. And then she half smiled. “Did you write that down first? Because as motivational speeches go, I think that could use some work.”

He chuckled, it felt weird to do so. “What can I say, I’m not a poet.”

The two of them just sat there in the dim room, holding each other’s hands, staring into the other person’s eyes. It wasn’t so much romantic as it was reassuring. They still had each other. They were some of the lucky few.

Rhodey practically ran into the room, startling both Bruce and Natasha. The man looked both winded and worried. “Rhodey, what is it?” Natasha asked, standing up from the table. Bruce stood up too.

Rhodey took a few deep breaths before mumbling, “Shuri and some of the other Wakandans saw something unusual on their radar or heat imaginers or whatever it is that they have. The point is they’re picking up something that looks like a small space ship coming our way. And not just one, about fifty of them.” Any color that Natasha had gained back from talking to Bruce she instantly lost.

Bruce’s head was starting to spin. Fifty ships? That was the equitant to a small army. And why? Thanos had already won. He had already snapped his fingers and wiped out half of the universe, so why would he send-? Natasha was already running out of the room back to Shuri’s lab. Bruce ran after her, Rhodey slowly jogged behind him.

After several turns and up an inclined plane they were back in Shuri’s lab. Steve stood behind where Okoye, M’Baku, and Shuri’s mother Ramonda all stood and watched the genius girl tap her fingers across a screen. Natasha went to Steve. “What’s happening?”

“They’re trying to make contact. See if they’re friendlies or not.”

And just as if on cue, Shuri pressed a green circle in the middle of her screen and said, “This is Shuri, Princess of Wakanda speaking. You are approaching Wakanda without permission, identify yourself now.” For five terribly long seconds there was nothing but silence. Shuri turned to the three directly behind her. “They have stopped about thirty feet away from the barrier and they just sit there.”

“We should attack,” M’Baku said.

“And if they are not our enemy?” Ramonda questioned.

M’Baku shrugged. “They would have answered by now if they were not hostile.”

A static noise came from the screen. Shuri spun back around. “Someone is trying to make contact over this frequency. Hello, hello? Does anybody copy?” The static noise continued and grew louder until it abruptly stopped. Steve and Natasha gave each other a look. Shuri tried to reach them again. “Hello? Is anybody out there?”

The static came back full force this time and a British sounding woman called out over the radio, _“Yes! We’re all here. Sorry, I couldn’t get this stupid transmitter to work and then I dropped it. Bloody thing…”_

Bruce’s eyes widened with realization. He knew that voice. “Oh my God.”

“What?” Natasha asked turning to him.

“That’s-that’s Valkyrie.” 

…

Loki had fallen into a teary eyed sleep in his brother’s arms. Thor only noticed this when he realized that Loki wasn’t crying into his shoulder anymore. At first he had thought that Loki had finally calmed down, but when he started to pull away, Loki fell against him. It was understandable. From what Thor could see, his poor brother was utterly exhausted and after the extreme release of emotions, both in destroying the room they sat in and in sobbing his heart out, it made sense that he would drift asleep.

Thor carried Loki to a room that was across from the broken up room. There was a cushiony couch in that room and Thor had laid him down on it. Loki stirred slightly but didn’t wake up. Thor grabbed a wooden chair and sat next to the sleeping Loki. He was utterly exhausted too, but he felt obligated to sit and watch over Loki. He stared at his brother, who looked so calm and peaceful in comparison to what he had been before. If there was anything Thor could wish for in this world it would be that he could make everything better for Loki. His brother’s words were still echoing in his head: _“I am and will always be a monster and y-you should hate me.”_

Was that what Loki truly believed? It obviously was, but Thor couldn’t believe it. All that guilt, shame, grief, and fear that was written all over Loki’s face was so heart wrenching for Thor to see that all he could think to do was pull him into a tight embrace. They finally had that hug.

_“If you were actually here I might even give you a hug.”_

_“I’m here.”_

They were both here, but neither of them wanted to be here in this cloud of depression and failure. But back to the point, it was the fear that really got to Thor. It was like he saw that Loki had some deep fear and he wanted to know what it was so he could protect him from it. And the cause of Loki’s fear? Thanos. Thor already hated the man, the Titan, but now…he wished he had splint Thanos down the middle when he had had the chance.

And why was Loki _this_ frightened by Thanos? Because Loki was no coward, a little less apt to fight maybe, but no coward. Before Thanos’s attack on their ship, all the color Loki had drained completely away and he had been shaking like a leaf in the breeze. And he had been shaking again when Loki told Thor that he never told anyone about Thanos’s plan because he was scared of him. But Thor heard Loki’s voice, so soft and so frail. Loki wasn’t afraid of Thanos, he was terrified of him.

Thor sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He needed to know what had happened between Thanos and his brother. He just needed to. At the same time he had this unusual sick feeling in his stomach that told him maybe he didn’t want to know. But that worry that what had happened had been _that_ dreadful just strengthened Thor’s resolve. If the remaining Avengers wouldn’t track Thanos down, then he would himself. Thanos would fix this problem of everyone disappearing, he would tell Thor what he had done to Loki, and then he would pay for everything he had done and meet his end by Thor’s axe.

There was a light tap on the door and then someone opened it a crack. “Thor?” Bruce asked as he opened the door all the way.

Thor stood up and carefully walked away from the sleeping Loki. He motioned for Bruce to go back out into the hallway. He did and then Thor was close behind him, pulling the door back shut. “What is it?”

Bruce seemed more awake and lively then what he had at their discussion of what they would do next. In fact he looked like he was on the verge of laughing or jumping for joy. “Thor, you’ll never believe it, but Shuri and some of the others, they spotted a whole bunch of ships and-and its Valkyrie.” Thor froze, from both shock and disbelief. “Thor? You okay?”

“What? Yeah, I…my God that means that the Asgardians…they’re alright.” Bruce nodded his head happily. Thor could feel the foreign sensation of a smile start to form on his lips. “Well, let’s go! I-I have to see them all and…ah…” He was so overcome with an odd sense of happiness that he didn’t know what to say.

“Should we tell Loki?”

Oh, right. Loki would want to know, but Thor shook his head. “I will, but later. Let him sleep for a while and gain back all of his strength. He’s taken all of this pretty hard so-”

“No need to explain. I understand.” Bruce had such a level of understanding in his tone that it made Thor smile more. It was difficult to try and explain to people that Loki wasn’t as bad as he had once been or seemed, but Bruce just seemed to get it. He got Loki. Maybe Loki hadn’t lost all of his friends after all. “Come on. They should be through the barrier by now.” And they both took off running in a direction that would lead them to the outside.

…

A large group of Wakandans, Shuri, her mother, the fierce bald woman, the man dressed all in blue, and the remaining Avengers were all already standing outside along the edge of the city when Thor and Bruce came running over. At least fifty small ships were hovering in the air and then landing in the beginning of the field. It was a glorious sight to see. The work and emergency pods that had been sent out into space and into safety, they were all here. A few of the pods opened up, there doors sliding open and the ramps being lowered, and out came families and shaken up groups of Asgardians.

Thor had never thought he would see his people again. Shuri approached him with a slight smile. It was odd to see any look of happiness on the girl who had so recently lost her brother, but he could tell that she was happy for him. She glanced at him and then the Asgardians who were being greeted by some of the Wakandans. “My brother told your brother that if the Asgardian refugees had nowhere else to go, they could stay in Wakanda as long as they liked.” Thor turned in surprise. “I am now giving you the same offer.”  
He opened his mouth to say something but he was speechless. So instead he shut his mouth and patted the girl on the shoulder, his way of saying thank you. One of the closer pod ships opened up and out of it came the beautiful and strong woman in her Valkyrie white armor and blue cape, carrying the small purple Miek under her arm. Both Thor and Bruce called out to her and ran over. Valkyrie looked up at them in a sort of mild surprise but then she smiled slightly.

Bruce reached her first. “Hey, you’re okay!”

“Of course I am. And you’re not the big guy right now.”

“Well…no.”

Valkyrie saw Thor and handed Miek over to Bruce, who took the small creature with wide eyes. “Your majesty,” she muttered.

Thor half waved. “Ah, hey, you uh, good to see that you are uh-”

He was interrupted by her abruptly throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. He certainly wasn’t expecting that. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she said in a soft voice.

He hugged her back. “I’m glad that you’re alive, too.” And then as fast as she had hugged him, she pushed him away from her and slapped him across the face. “Ow! What the hell-?”

“That’s for having your stupid brother send me away like I was some sort of second class citizen! I could have helped you with the fight if you hadn’t been such an idiot!”

Thor rubbed his sore check and muttered, “I make sure you and Loki get to safety, away from the fight and what do I get for my troubles? You both yell at me.”

“And that’s another thing,” Valkyrie said placing her hands on her hips. “Where do you get off on deciding that you get to protect me? I can protect myself! I have already proven that I am an expert fighter. I’m better then you and your pain in the neck brother.”

“Look-”

“I’m not finished!” Thor kept his mouth shut. “I’ve never been to Midgard before, neither has most of the refugees so we were just flying around in space like a bunch of idiots not knowing where we were going! If you had told me from the beginning that you wanted me to go with the others, then you could have made sure I had coordinates or something, instead of sending the God of Mischief to do your dirty work!”

Thor nodded, hating that he was being yelled at in front of everyone, but he knew she wasn’t wrong. “Alright, I didn’t think it all through.”

“No kidding.”

“And I know you can take care of yourself but I just wanted to make sure that you would, you know, live.” Valkyrie blinked her brown eyes at him and sighed. She didn’t say anything else, but she wasn’t yelling at him anymore. That meant she wasn’t mad at him anymore but she still wasn’t happy.

“Guys, I don’t mean to interrupt,” Bruce said, still off to the side. “But one, could someone take him,” he motioned to Miek, “because he’s all slimy and two, weren’t there more refugees then this?”

Valkyrie took back Miek and patted his head sadly. “When we were wandering around something happened. People they were just…vanishing. They turned to dust.” Thor and Bruce gave each other a look. “We are only half now.”

Thor breathed deeply and glanced around at the Asgardians. The small population of his already dwindling people had been cut in half again. He should have known better. Thanos’s snap did not just affect Wakanda. “Korg?”

Valkyrie shook her head. “He’s gone.” She seemed to hold Miek closer to her.

The remaining Avengers along with Shuri migrated closer to where Thor stood. Natasha stepped over to Bruce and placed her hand on his shoulder. Steve was the first to speak. “Thor, I’m sorry.” Thor nodded slightly, not really hearing him. It was such a shock and yet it shouldn’t have been. But he always did seem to have a knack for losing things, didn’t he?

Shuri walked up to Valkyrie. “Hello, I am Shuri. We talked over the radio frequency. I want you and all of your people to know that you are welcome to stay here in Wakanda for as long as you want.” Valkyrie smiled a tight smile and nodded her head.

Rhodey cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to pry, but you said that you” he pointed at Valkyrie, “and the others have never been to Earth before.”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Then how did you get here? And more specifically, how did you know to go to Wakanda?”

Thor turned to face the fierce warrior expectedly. That was a good question. Valkyrie sighed, “As it turned out when we were wandering we were able to pick up a distress signal coming from an abandoned planet. I guess it’s good we were out there because I don’t know how else those two would have gotten off the planet.”

“So, wait,” Bruce said. “You picked up two more refugees from another planet?”

Valkyrie nodded. “It was just after we had lost half of everyone. I wasn’t going to do anything about the signal because I thought it might be a trap. But then they said they had lost most of their team that had been fighting this Thanos guy, so…” Everyone was silent and they all gave each other glances. Valkyrie continued on, “Point is, we picked them up and the two of them both knew how to get us to Midgard. Then the guy had this odd rectangle devise that had all of these projections on it and he said that someone called “The Media” was talking about a battle between aliens and these people called Wakandans so he directed me and the rest of our ships here.”

“This guy you picked up told you how to get here?” Thor asked.

“Yeah. Annoying guy. It might be because he’s slightly injured but, the one who fascinated me the most wasn’t the guy but the girl.”

“The girl?”

“Yeah! She’s all blue and has a metal arm and I think she knows your brother.”

Thor blinked several times in confusion. “Loki?”

Valkyrie nodded. “I told her who I was and where I was from and about you and immediately she asked me if you were the Thor, Prince of Asgard, brother of Loki.”

“Brother of…” So that’s what that felt like. To only be described as someone else’s brother and not your own person. He didn’t like it much and this was only the first time it had ever happened. Now he could see why Loki had hated being referred to as “Brother of Thor” so much.

“Actually, I think the guy knew your brother too and you,” Valkyrie said.

Thor said, “Take me to them.”

“No need,” she said turning around to look at the ship she had exited. “Here they come now.”

A bald blue woman with a metal arm came walking out, supporting the bloody and severally injured Tony Stark.

After a day like this, nothing should have surprised anyone. But what could they say? _This_ was a surprise.

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""_

_Author’s Note Again: I should note again, for my current readers and to anyone reading this in the future, that this was written before Ant-Man and The Wasp and before Avengers Endgame. Anything that happens in the movies will probably not be reflected in this story too much and I am not changing the story at this point to go along with the canon of any future films. This is its own independent thing. Thank you._

_I apologize to every and all persons who loves Loki for making him suffer. But it just made sense that he would blame himself (unjustly) for the events of what happened and would break down. Loki is by far one of the most complex and fascinating characters to write for because he has so many layers and emotions to him. There is a song by Maria and the Diamonds called “Oh No!” which I highly recommend you all listen to and there is a lyric in the second verse that describes Loki perfectly: “I feel like I’m the worst, so I always act like I’m the best.” And that’s what makes Loki so interesting. He can go from this self-hating tortured person to this sarcastic, egotistical person and that is a character I love. (Probably why he has such a giant fan base)_

_God bless Rocket Raccoon for saving this chapter from being completely one hundred percent depressing. He’s definitely one of my favorite Guardians._

_But anyways, that's all I got to say. Have a good day!_


	8. Chapter Seven: "New Hand?"

At the sight of the bloodied and limping billionaire leaning against the odd blue girl, Steve and Bruce both rushed up the space pod’s ramp to see if they could really believe their eyes. “ _Tony?_ ” Bruce asked, reaching out for his friend. “What-what, how, you-?”

The blue girl who had her metal arm around Tony answered, “Thanos stabbed him with a piece of his armor.”

“I’m fine,” Tony muttered. His bloodied hand was clutching at his left side, blood had stained through his black hooded zip-up coat.

“We must get him to my lab,” Shuri called.

“Here,” Bruce said stepping closer still to Tony. The blue girl traded places with Bruce so that he was the one supporting Tony and she was off to the side. Steve helped too. Tony’s eyes shined with surprise and a sort of sadness when he saw Steve.

“Cap.”

“Tony.”

Tony looked the bearded man up and down and half chuckled. “You’re the only man I know that can pull off both the Boy Scout look and the lumberjack look.”

Steve smiled. “He’ll be fine.”

Rhodey shook his head. “Of course he will. He’s looked death in the eye multiple times and still manages to come up with a smart quip. Only guy I know who does that.”

“Clearly you haven’t spent that much time with Clint,” Natasha said stepping out of the way as Steve and Bruce lead Tony down the ramp and closer to the group.

“Agent Romanoff,” Tony greeted. Then he seemed to notice that the redhead was a bleached blonde. “What happened to you? Decided to find a new spring look?”

Natasha smirked and almost absentmindedly felt the tips of her hair. “No. But you’re the second person to ask me that.”

Tony glanced around at the remaining Avengers all circled around him and the two other men supporting him. “Reindeer Games actually did it, didn’t he?” he asked, turning to Bruce who smiled slightly. Bruce knew he was talking about his request for Loki to get him to the Avengers headquarters and to tell them all about Thanos. To assemble the Avengers.

Bruce nodded, “Yup, he sure did.”

“And…and he didn’t try to kill anyone?”

Steve remembered Tony’s nickname for the trickster god so he knew who and what they were talking about. “Nobody,” he answered. “Except for Thanos and his people.”

Tony blinked a few times and softly scoffed. “Well, huh…who knew?”

M’Baku cleared his throat off to the side, impatiently. “We should get him to the lab like the Princess said and get all of these people to the shelter.”

“I agree,” Valkyrie said walking from Thor’s side and heading in the direction where some of the refugees stood clamoring amongst themselves.

Ramonda stepped forward and said, “General.” Okoye turned to her former Queen awaiting orders. “You go with her and make sure that the Asgardians are settled in.” Okoye bowed her head and went to follow Valkyrie.

Tony’s gaze followed Valkyrie’s retreating form and he shook his head. “She’s a loud one. Shouted orders and insults the whole ride over.”

Thor shrugged. “She does that.”

Tony had seen Thor but it was only at this moment that he actually realized what it meant. “You _are_ alive.”

Thor sighed, “Why does everyone think that I died?”

“Because a Squidward looking creep with powers told your brother that he and Thanos had killed you.”

Leave it to Tony Stark to be bluntly honest. Thor looked to Bruce in mild surprise because the gray and brown haired man had forgotten to mention that when he told Thor all about his and Loki’s day. Bruce nodded appearing slightly uncomfortable, like he knew he hadn’t told Thor everything and was now being called out for it. Why Bruce didn’t tell him that, perhaps he hadn’t thought that it was of high importance, would probably remain a mystery. All Thor knew was that he now understood why Loki had been so relieved and happy to see him in Wakanda. And why he had gotten so irritated when Thor had shrugged it off.

Thor wanted to smack his forehead with his hand. He really could be a witless oaf sometimes.

Once again M’Baku impatiently cleared his throat. Natasha came very close to rolling her eyes, but instead she resisted the urge and said, “Evidently, the fur ball wants us to hurry it up and get Tony to Shuri’s lab.”

“Hey, do not knock my fur clothes. I would like to see you survive the subzero temperatures of the snow covered mountains in your spandex leather outfit.” M’Baku noticed Ramonda giving him an unamused glare and even though she never had any authority over him or his people, he quickly changed what he was saying to go back to being in “favor” with the former Queen. “I mean, ah, yes I would like us to hurry along.”

“Nice save,” Natasha muttered not at all holding back her sass.

Steve shook his head. “Seriously Nat?”

“What?”

Steve let out a deep sigh. Tony half chuckled, “Damn, I’ve missed this.” With that Shuri, M’Baku, Ramonda, and the remaining Avengers all started making their way through the field and back towards the city, followed by Steve and Bruce still supporting the frail looking Tony. Thor had made the conscious decision to not follow them and to instead stay behind and make sure that all of the Asgardians were okay and not too shaken up.

But before he did anything he felt like he just had to stand in the yellow grassed field amongst all the now empty emergency and work pods. He just needed a moment of calm and of nothing happening. A moment were he didn’t have to think or worry. The last couple of weeks had been extremely rough, not to mention just this single day, and it honestly felt like he hadn’t had a moment to just…well, not do anything. 

He stood watching the small group lead Tony away. It had almost been two years since he had seen the genius, billionaire, playboy, and then he forgot the other thing Tony had described himself as all those years ago. But the point was it had been so long. Actually it had been so long for all of the team. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He should help the two fierce warrior women with attending to the Asgardians now. He had had his little moment of nothing so-

He slightly turned around and saw out of the corner of his eye that the blue girl was still standing on the side of the pod ramp. And she was staring at him. Her eyes were deep bottomless black orbs that did more than just stare at him, they stared right through him. Thor wasn’t sure if it was those eyes of hers that made him instantly feel cautious or if it was her unfriendly demeanor. She wore an almost vicious frown. But if you took away those two factors she really was an interesting sight to behold. Her blue skin tones, her shiny and elegantly carved metal arm, the contrast of her old and worn metal hand, her Ravager red uniform, the machine grafted to the side of her bald head.

She certainly _was_ a sight.

Thor consciously became aware that she was eyeing him in the same way that he was eyeing her. Actually it was more like she was sizing him up with a judgmental gleam. He uncomfortably fidgeted around at her unceasing stare. “So,” he started quietly. “Um, Valkyrie said that you, well, that you knew of me and my brother.” The girl slowly stomped down the ramp and stood about five feet away from him. Thor could not put his finger on what it was, but something about this girl just rubbed him the wrong way.

“Your brother,” she said, her voice sounding practically mechanical. “He is Loki, Prince of Asgard?”

“Yes.”

She was silent and she didn’t move a muscle but there was a flash of excitement or maybe it was hope, it was really hard to tell with her, that ran through her eyes for a split second before it disappeared and she went back to her unfriendly appearance. She glanced down at the grass that she stood in. “Valkyrie spoke of you and Loki in the present tense…and then Stark said he saw…” She looked back up and met Thor’s eyes. Then she calmly and seriously asked, “He’s alive, isn’t he?”

Now Thor was confused. “Loki? Yeah, of course he’s alive.”

The girl seemed to let out a deep sigh of relief and take a step backwards. She muttered to herself, “I knew he had failed with the plan, both my father’s and his own plans for betrayal. It was all so crazy and insane…of course he would fail. I knew he was taken back to Asgard and subjected to their justice. But-but then Thanos said that Loki had died in the world of the Dark Elves. That he had died a…but then Valkyrie and…and now you yourself said…where is he?”

Thor really was confused and he didn’t know what to make of this unusual girl. She had this gruff disposition and this underlining attitude that made him not like her, but then when she had just spoken there was a true amount of concern for his brother. Genuine concern. “I’m sorry, how do you know my brother?”

The girl met his eyes again, her eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. She was staring at him again and for every long second that went by Thor grew more and more antsy. Boy, this girl had a knack for appearing menacing and getting under his skin. Then suddenly the girl’s eyes widened with realization and they became softer. She whispered, “He never told you.”

Thor shook his head. “Never told me what?”

She opened her mouth to say something but the second she did somebody shouted out, “Nebula!” At the sound of Rocket’s voice, Thor spun around and saw the rabbit, no Loki said he was a raccoon, finish sprinting over with a look of urgency and surprise. He stopped a few feet away from where Thor and this girl who was apparently named Nebula stood. Rocket was panting as he said, “Nebula, didn’t…expect you…to be here… _God_ , I need to breathe…”

He stopped talking and placed both hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. After a few moments of this, Rocket stood back up straight, still looking pretty winded, but he continued anyways. “I’m actually glad to see ya Nebula, cause if you’re here then the Guardians gotta be here too.” Nebula’s lips parted again but she didn’t utter a word. “Nebula? The Guardians are with you, right?” Rocket’s tone suddenly had gone from hopeful and confident to borderline nervous. In the short period of time that Thor had known the rabb-raccoon he had picked up on the simple fact that Rocket was pretty much fearless. A little odd and a bit of a sarcastic asshole but… Seeing him suddenly look so scared was like a punch in the stomach. Nebula still hadn’t said a word and her unfriendly look was beginning to fall and in its place was a sorrowful appearance. And it was clearly killing Rocket to not have an answer. “ _Nebula?_ ” he tried one more time.

“They’re all gone, okay?” she practically yelled. Her sudden and unexpected outburst made Thor jump slightly and the two warrior women both paused to stop and stare, possibly looking to see if there was trouble.

But Rocket only gasped and took a step backwards, shaking his head. “What?” he whispered.

Nebula closed her eyes and said, “Thanos killed Gamora to receive the Soul Stone and the rest of them vanished into dust.”

Rocket shook his head more and faster. “No, no, no, no. I, uh…I can’t be all-all that’s left. I just _can’t_ be.” He just stood there in silent shock looking smaller than usual. Thor didn’t know how to help his friend. The raccoon wasn’t like Loki who he could just scope up in his arms and vow to always protect. Rocket was a whole other person with his own set of complicated emotions and ways of handling a crisis and with the pain of loss. And evidently his way of dealing with the world halting news that his team was gone was to lash out. His head popped up and he pointed accusingly at Nebula. “I don’t believe you. Why should I? You tried to kill me and Groot and Gamora and all of us numerous times! How do I know you’re not still working with your dear old dad and that you’re not gonna try and kill me and everybody else here in the-the name of that psycho?!”

Nebula did not at all react to Rocket’s shouting like everyone else on the field did. In fact it seemed to harden her resolve. “I am not lying. What I said is true and if you do not believe it then suit yourself.” The gravity of reality set its weight down hard on Rocket and his beady little eyes started to well up.

Thor tentatively stepped forward and reached out for Rocket. “My friend…” But that’s all he got out before the raccoon turned away and ran back to the lit up city. Thor put his hand back down to his side and shook his head sadly. Damn Thanos for this. For this and every other act he was responsible for. He glanced back at Nebula and took note that she was no longer as hostile looking as she had been before. He said to her, “Should you ah, or maybe I…go after him?”

Nebula shook her head. “I have been reliably informed that I do not do well when it comes to my or other people’s emotions. If you want to be my guest but…not me. Not me.” There was a new air of sadness to her, a more intense and dramatic air of sadness. One filled with loss and self-loathing and hopelessness. One that was vaguely familiar to Thor. 

One very similar to Loki’s deep air of depression.

…

“What about Dr. Strange?” Bruce asked Tony who was sitting on one of the silver metal tables while Shuri placed a handful of the small metal beads on his deep, nasty, poorly mended wound. Ramonda helped her daughter by holding the beads while Shuri placed them where they would effectively heal Tony’s wound. M’Baku stood close to the door leading in and out of Shuri’s lab, giving the remaining Avengers a little privacy. And of course the remaining Avengers, after making sure Tony was in fact okay, made it their priority to find out what the hell happened to Tony and how he ended up on an abandoned planet with a metal armed blue woman. Tony had already told them all that Peter Parker, the Spider-Man, his protégé had been one of the many who had disappeared into dust. He was taking it very hard, rubbing his head, and then becoming uncharacteristically quiet. Bruce then asked about the wizard doctor he and Loki had met in New York. “Loki said you went after him. I mean obviously Thanos got the stone, but…”

Tony understood what Bruce was asking and he shook his head sadly and tiredly. “He’s gone too… The damn stupid jerk.” Tony squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his right hand against the metal table causing both Shuri and Ramonda to start. Tony didn’t seem to notice anyone’s concerned or worried glances, he just started rambling. “Strange with his inflated ego, goes on and on about how it’s his duty to protect the stone and how he would save the stone over me or Peter or anyone else and you know what he does? Go ahead, guess.” Nobody said a word. “He trades the stone for my life. My life! That God damn hypocrite! He makes such a big fuss and then he saves me.” He shook his head again although this time it was almost in disgust. “Damn bastard…”

Bruce took a few steps back to where Natasha stood off to the sidelines next to Rhodey and Steve. As Bruce walked away from Tony, Steve stepped forward trying to carefully approach him. “Tony…I know that this is hard for you but…”

Tony brushed him off. “Yeah, yeah, I got it Paul Bunion.” Tony took a deep breath and let it out almost in a huff and continued with his story, but this time he started from the beginning. “After I told Reindeer Games to get Bruce to the headquarters and assemble you guys and...” Tony glanced around the small group knowing full well that they were cut in half in size, “well, everyone else, Strange, Peter, and I were on the donut space ship. We took care of Squidward and we all decided to continue heading for Thanos. That’s when Strange made it crystal clear that he would pick the stone to save over me or Peter. We crash landed on this big void and empty planet. It was all dusty, like a desert wasteland. There we met these really weird oddball characters who wanted to take down Thanos because he kidnapped their friend. We all made this plan to defeat Thanos and it almost worked but…” Tony swallowed and glanced down at his hands folded in his lap. “Well, there is no use going on. You all already know that we failed. And everyone except for me and Nebula are gone.” He put his hands up to his face in a defeated manner.

It was extremely difficult for the small group of heroes to see their at one time un-appointed leader broke down to being so tired and weary. Steve placed a firm hand on Tony’s shoulder and said in his soft, comforting voice, “You did your best. We all did. There was nothing else any of us could have possibly done.”

Tony dropped his hands and glared at Steve with what appeared to be hostility. “Yeah, tell that to the fifteen year old who vanished in my arms Steve.”

Steve blinked in slight surprise at Tony’s display of total despair and anger when he spoke about the loss of the boy from Queens, but then Steve sighed knowing Tony only too well. Tony’s family had been gone for a long time and he had a knack for finding and befriending people and collecting them for his makeshift family. Wasn’t that what the Avengers was for Tony Stark? For all of them? Steve had never thought about Howard Stark as a family man, but he had been proven wrong and he had the sinking feeling that his thought of Tony never being the family man with kids had also been proven wrong. Tony had a kid, not a blood kid, but a kid all the same. And he had watched him disappear into dust.

Steve sat next to his friend on the table as Shuri waved her bracelet over the small beads on Tony’s side and they all lit up in a blue hue. “This job was never easy, you knew that going in. Sometimes…sometimes we can’t save everybody, but I think-no, I _know_ that we will figure a way to fix this.”

“How?” Tony asked miserably.

“I don’t know yet.”

Tony sighed and rubbed his tired and teary eyes. He muttered, “I want to kill Thanos for this.”

Steve glanced at Bruce, Natasha, and Rhodey who all stood in their own cloud of loss and feelings of being powerless to stop Thanos and save their teammates and then to Shuri, Ramonda, and M’Baku who had lost so much themselves, their actual blood. Steve nodded in agreement with what Tony had said, remembering the fear in Bucky’s eyes and the fact that he never got to say goodbye, _again_. He clenched his hands into fists. “Believe me Tony, you’re not the only one.”

…

Closer to the center of the city was a seven-story blue sleek building that was used as a sort of shelter. There were no homeless or poor individuals in Wakanda but the building had been built in case of hard times, whether economically or due to extreme weather or just about anything. The building had its own shield that could be brought up around it, a large supply of food and water, several hundred beds and baths, and a whole floor that was basically a hospital. In theory it could have also been used as a safe house, almost like an above the ground bunker, but when T’Challa had ordered the city of Wakanda to be evacuated, he had not ordered them to the shelter but further away from the fight still, to a neighboring city. He had wanted to ensure that the civilians would be safe and the only way to do so was to take them out of Wakanda.

That’s what General Okoye told Thor and Valkyrie as they all stood in the doorway of a large sitting room, watching several Asgardian families settling in. It warmed Thor’s heart to see his people safe and sound and most of all happy. Or, well, something close to it. “I want to thank you and the Princess and all of your people again for allowing us to stay here,” Thor said watching a curious little girl play with a holograph on a screen that was stuck to one of the walls.

“Do not thank me,” Okoye said. “Thank King T’Challa for making the offer and the Princess for continuing her brother’s offer.”

Valkyrie patted Okoye on the shoulder. “Well, thanks for helping us with getting everyone to the building then.”

Okoye nodded with a slight smile. “Yes, of course. I was only doing what my former Queen asked of me.”

Valkyrie crossed her arms. “You’re one of those follow every rule, support the crown with your undying loyalty warriors, aren’t you?” Okoye nodded again. Valkyrie half scoffed, “Okay then. Good for you.”

“She has some trust issues when it comes to royalty,” Thor said, feeling obligated to explain Valkyrie to Okoye.

Valkyrie didn’t like that at all. “Don’t explain me to other people,” she snapped. “And I have every reason to be untrusting of royalty. My former King basically screwed me and my Valkyrie sisters over.”

Okoye was silent for a second before saying with a hint of sadness, “Well, all I have to say is that I would always follow my King and support his actions.” And then at the last second she added, “My only problem with the crown is Princes who think they know everything.”

“I know! What is up with that?” Valkyrie exclaimed. “I mean, take this one for example,” she motioned to Thor, “he thinks that he can decide what is best for me, without even consulting me.”

Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I thought you weren’t mad about that anymore.”

“Guess what, I am.”

Thor stared at Valkyrie and her brilliant brown eyes both muttering, “I should probably leave if you two are going to start bonding over “Princes who think they know everything”. I have a feeling it will not make me very happy.”

Okoye smiled again and Valkyrie smirked. “Yeah, alright you do that. Me and the General will just be discussing all the dumb things that you’ve done.”

“And that’s why I’m leaving.” Thor left the two warrior women to discuss their problems with their Princes and already he was not feeling very happy about Valkyrie talking about him in an ill manner behind his back. Oh well. He probably deserved it for not coming to her and asking her to get on one of the emergency pods.

He walked down several inclined planes that were meant to replace stairs until he was at the bottom floor. He could have stayed in the building and checked in with everyone but he decided it was time that he go and tell Loki that the Asgardians were alive and well. It was pitch black nighttime now, but you would never know it because of all of the bright lights on the buildings. It was like this city never had an evening, it only had a never ending day. When he was approaching the black and gray sleek building that held Shuri’s lab and the room he had left the sleeping Loki in, he saw that Nebula woman sitting by herself on the lit up stairs off to the side of the building. Her hands were folded together and her head lowered in a depressed manner. “Hi, there,” he said, startling her. Oh great, that’s just what he wanted to do. Startle and upset the girl he couldn’t quite understand. “Sorry about that. Um, what are you doing?”

Nebula glared at him and said in a tone, “I’m sitting by myself sulking, what do you think I’m doing?”

Thor tried to keep his patience, although it was pretty easy to do so. After years of dealing with Loki he had become a master of dealing with smartass comments. “Ah, I see. Did you ever talk to Rocket?” Nebula shook her head no and never took her gaze away from him. “Ah, well neither did I. I should probably put that on my list of things to do.” She rolled her eyes at his attempt at lightening the mood. Thor took a deep breath. “Look, I-I feel like somehow we got off on the wrong foot and that you just don’t like me very much.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, I’m glad we’ve cleared that up.”

Nebula stood up quickly from where she had been sitting on the stairs. Even in the dark her black eyes were piercing. “After all of the years you spent ignoring Loki, why should I?”

Thor couldn’t help but blink in surprise at the way she had spat that out at him, but he almost immediately took the defense. “I’m sorry, what? You have no right to say-”

“I have no right to say? To say what? What is true?”

Thor didn’t know what to be more surprised by: Nebula’s harsh words or her obvious caring for Loki. He rubbed his pounding temples. “Okay, seriously I have to know. How do you know my brother?” Nebula gave him one more piercing glare and then turned around and marched up the stairs. Thor was right behind her calling, “Listen to me, I am only going to ask you one more time-”

“How do I know your brother?”

Why did everybody like interrupting him? “Yes.”

Nebula halted to a stop and spun around. Thor had to stop himself from running into her. She stared at him with an unreadable expression before shaking her head. “You do not want to know.”

“Let me be the decider of that.” Nebula continued to shake her head and she started to walk away again, but Thor grabbed ahold to her metal arm to stop her. The second he did, he regretted it. She spun back around and looked like she was just about ready to punch him in the jaw. And those eyes of hers? Yeah, they got about ten times scarier.

“Let go of me right now,” she said in an eerie whisper.

He immediately let go of her arm but her scary look did not go away. “I’m sorry, I just…he’s my brother and I know that he is terrified of Thanos and that you are one of the step-daughters of Thanos and I have this sinking, dreadful feeling that…”

Nebula’s shoulders seemed to relax a little bit and her eyes seemed to shine with a sort of remembrance. She softly said, “Thanos found him when he had fallen from Asguard. He wanted him to help him with his “purpose” but Loki refused…and he paid for that.”

Thor did not quite understand. “What do you mean?”

His borderline cluelessness angered her and she instantly rounded on him. “What do I mean? What do you think I mean?! Are you truly as witless as Loki said? Thanos had him tortured every single day for months!”

That horrible feeling Thor had suddenly doubled as his worst fears and his morbid imaginations were confirmed. Fearless, sarcastic, brilliant Loki who had turned into a trembling terrified man at the very thought of Thanos…Thor had tried very hard to not think what it meant. But he knew he would eventually find Thanos and get him to tell him why. But now he knew why. Every single day? For _months_? He had a strong urge to run back to the room he had left Loki in, wake him up, and pull him into another tight hug. Why hadn’t he told him?

Thor was basically in shock, his mouth falling open slightly just staring at Nebula, who’s demeanor had changed dramatically. She was no longer enraged but crestfallen. Perhaps she realized how brutally blunt she had been. “I…I’m sorry… I just…Where did you say he was?”

Thor stared at her for another second or so before clearing his throat and replying, “He’s um, I’ll just ah, show you.”

…

Do you know the feeling when you have woken up but you still have your eyes closed and you are still in a restful place, somewhere in the middle of completely awake and completely asleep? That was where Loki was right now. He hadn’t realized he had even fallen asleep until this very moment of being half-awake. It had been a door creaking open and then shut that had awoken him. What time was it? Was the horrible day finally over? He swallowed, feeling how dry and sore his throat was. He should really just cave in and either heal it himself or have Shuri do it, but as he slowly woke up he remembered why he hadn’t wanted it healed in the first place. He felt a gentle, yet firm hand on his shoulder, a cold hand.

_Thor?_

More than likely, but why was his hand so cold?

“Loki?”

At the sound of the soft metallic voice Loki woke up completely. His eyes popped opened. He was on a cushiony couch facing the back so he couldn’t see who was in the room with him just yet. Not that he needed to see her to know. He slowly rolled over onto his back, taking note that he was in a totally different room and that he was not crazy after all.  
“Nebula?” he said in a still hoarse voice. It was unbelievable. Completely bloody unbelievable. Here she stood before him, staring down at him with those beautiful deep eyes of hers. “This isn’t a dream, is it?”

“No,” she said softly again.

“Then-just,” he rubbed his head slightly, “ _how?_ ”

Nebula took a step backwards and started slowly pacing around the room. Loki could only stare at her. She hadn’t changed a bit. She looked exactly the same as she had all those years ago when they had said their rocky goodbye. He took it back, there was one thing different. Gone was her purple top and black pants. Instead she wore a top to bottom red uniform. It looked like the uniforms that those Ravager stealers wore, but he doubted that she would join them. “I was fighting against Thanos with my sister’s friends and a trio of humans. After the snap only I and a man named Stark were left.”

“Tony Stark?” he asked surprised. How was it that he never ceased to be surprised?

“Yes.”

Loki sighed. “Sure, why not. Go on.”

“Anyways, we sent out a distress signal and the Asgardians came-”

“Wait. The refugees? They’re alive and here?”

“Yes,” Nebula said, this time with a little bit of an underlining tone.

He hadn’t meant to interrupt again, he just had to make sure he heard her right. Thank the stars for having the Asgardians be alive. The loss of them would have been hard on not only him but also on Thor. Wait, where was Thor? Nebula was giving him a slightly annoyed look. She really didn’t change. “I’m sorry, I interrupted.”

“A little bit yes. Point is, Stark learned that the rest of his team was here and so, here we are.” The rest of the team? Of course, the Avengers must have been thrilled to see their leader (or was the dear Captain their leader?) and they all must be somewhere having another regrouping conference, deciding what it was they were to do next. Loki sat up with a light groan and rubbed his tender throat. Nebula saw the horrible black and blue bruise on his throat and neck for the first time and her eyes widened “Are you alright?”

“Of course,” he muttered as he sat with his feet back firmly on the ground. “I mean, besides the fact that half the population of the world is gone and that my head was almost ripped off like a daisy by your dad, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Still the God of Dumb Quips, I see.”

“Mischief,” he corrected. “God of _Mischief_.”

She half smiled, it was so nice to see her even half smile. Her resting expression was usually angry contempt or deep sadness. And since nothing else seemed to change, he doubted that that had changed either. Her half smile disappeared. “You know that for a couple of years I thought you were dead.”

“Oh,” he said feeling guilty that he was the cause of her now sad face. “You um, heard about the whole dark world thing then?”

“Yes,” she said with her sassy and feisty tone. “You were supposedly stabbed through the heart and died a hero’s death.”

Was it crazy that he had missed her sass and feistiness? “Yup, that’s the one. Um, sorry?”

Nebula sighed and sat down in a wooden chair that was right next to the couch. “I know why you faked your death. It was to get away from my father’s inevitable wrath. I can’t be mad at that.”

“ _Well_ , actually I didn’t fake my death.” Nebula’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “I just sort of miraculously survived and why would you be mad if I had faked my own death?” Nebula didn’t answer, she just stared down at her folded hands. He could see the faint light reflecting off of her arm and her hand. Wait-her hand. It was a duller and dingier metal then what he had remembered it being and the corners of it were covered in dirt and grime. “New hand?”

She half smiled again. “Always so observant.”

“I healed two of your fingers, I know that is not the same metal. Besides you would never allow your original hand to get so dirty and filled with all that disgusting grime.”

“Always so perceptive.”

“About everyone but myself.” He tore his gaze from her for a moment and then he looked back at her with a bit of remorse. “I…I’m sorry about how we parted ways. I was-you were right about Thanos and the Mind Stone and I was just-”

“A stubborn idiot?”

“…Not exactly what I was going to say, but sure.”

“It’s just good to see you out from under _his_ control.” She didn’t have to say “Thanos’s” or “father’s” control, the way she spat the word “his” like it was venom was more than enough to confirm that they were in fact talking about the mad Titan.

Loki smiled, realizing that she was free from him as well if she had been fighting with Stark and her sister’s friends, also known as Rocket’s little group of people. “You too.”  
She shook her head and closed her eyes in a tired way. “I was trying to kill Thanos before this whole mess with him collecting the stones himself even began. I was so close Loki, I swear to you I was. But…for a split second I lost my nerve and he was able to subdue me.” She paused only long enough to let out a shaky breath. “I was stuck there on that damn ship of his for over a year. I always hated it, but I never truly realized how hellish it is when you’re a prisoner. And there was no more talking. Before I had the prisoners but this time I had nothing.”

Loki stared at the blue woman, his heart bleeding for her. He knew what it was like to be a prisoner on that ship and he doubted that Thanos would hold back the torment for his step-daughter. But it wasn’t even that fact that made him reach over and grab Nebula’s metal wrist in a compassionate sort of way. It was because he knew how much the talking meant to her. It was her only way of coping, the only comfort she probably had ever had. And Thanos took that away from her. She stared at him in bewilderment when his fingers wrapped around her cold wrist. “You can talk to me,” he whispered. “You can always talk to me.”

There was an old saying, eyes are windows to the soul or something like that. And Loki had to believe it, because what Nebula lacked when it came to speaking or expressing her emotions in the traditional way, she made up for it with those entrancing eyes of hers. An outsider looking in would assume that Nebula was still staring at Loki in bewilderment but someone who knew the woman like he did could see the hope, the calmness, and the relief run through her eyes. She swallowed and blinked her eyes a few times, pushing back the very visible tears. “So what do you wish to talk about?”

“Anything at all.”

She was quiet for a moment, with a thoughtful look on her face. “Okay, I got something. How did you miraculously survive being stabbed through the heart? I know that you are virtually unkillable but, that seems a little ridiculous.”

“Unkillable? Hmm. I like the sound of that. As for this whole “stabbed through the heart” thing, you really need to check your resources Nebula, because I wasn’t stabbed through the heart.”

“Heart, chest, it’s the same thing.”

“It’s really not.”

Loki was still reeling from what would probably be known as the worst day of his life and there was a part of him that still just wanted to curl up in a ball somewhere and do nothing but feel the weight of guilt and self-loathing because he deserved it still, but he wasn’t going to do that right now. Nebula was here, the blue feisty girl with cold hands after all these years of being apart. And they started talking, started getting lost in the other person’s stories, like nothing had changed. Only things had changed. There was no one coming to take Loki away for his daily torture and Nebula didn’t have to slip away before one of her siblings discovered her.

The way they both saw it, the talking never had to stop.


	9. Chapter Eight: Love is for Children

Time was being odd again. The hours just seemed to slip past as if they were minutes and before either Loki or Nebula knew it, the sun was lazily starting to come up over the horizon, painting the sky a light blue and bright yellow. They had stayed up and talked for over seven hours. Well, what could they say? They had been apart for nearly six years and they had a lot of catching up to do.

And there was no rush in doing so.

If they ever stopped the reality of the situation would probably set down on both of them hard and they would be back in the same boat they had been in before: stuck in a deep cloud of depression.

“So, you traveled halfway around the galaxy to find your sister in order to finally defeat her in combat and then you…spared her life and you helped kill her boyfriend’s dad, the giant planet?” Loki asked with a hint of wonder. He had to have heard her wrong.

“Yes.”

Or maybe not. They both sat on the floor of the large room with deep gray colored walls and small golden lights placed on the ceiling. The floor was carpeted with thick, soft, fury black material. It was like a large wooly blanket. Nebula sat with her legs crossed about four feet away from Loki who had his legs to his chest. “I’m sorry but, wasn’t Gamora the sister you hated? Why would you change your mind after all of these years?”

“Wasn’t Thor the brother you wanted and tried to kill?”

“Okay, point taken.”

Nebula sighed, “I…I always wanted a sister.” She didn’t say anything for over a minute, her words just hung there in the air. Loki didn’t reply, not wanting to push her. “Out of all those horrible people who were my “siblings” Gamora was the most tolerable, but she never once reframed when it came to beating me in combat. And every time she did…” Nebula clenched her metal hand into a tight fist.

“I get it,” Loki whispered. He didn’t want her to feel like she had to go down her awful memory lane again to make him understand. He did. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear about how Thanos would put sister against sister and then replace a part of the loser, always Nebula, with machinery again. During his time on Thanos’s ship he had often had a morbid sense of curiosity when it came to Nebula. He truly wanted to know how Thanos was responsible for her having non-flesh and bone parts. But now that he knew what Nebula had gone through for all those years…it made his time on the ship seem like a walk through the park.

“Killing Quill’s dad or whatever he was, was just to ensure that the universe would survive. It’s a little difficult to seek revenge on your insane father if the galaxy is destroyed.” 

“I’m sure.”

“And what can I say? Gamora and I were trying to be, well, she is my sister.” Nebula paused for a moment before adding quietly, “She _was_ my sister.” Despite the desperate attempt to keep their conversation away from their hardships it was unavoidable. Loki had told her about the death of his mother and Odin and Nebula told him that Thanos had killed Gamora and made all of those Guardian people that Rocket talked about vanish. Loki was about to say something, what he did not know. Perhaps something comforting or maybe he was going to change the subject and lead them both away from the pain. But before he could Nebula muttered, “Oh, I should probably mention that I kind of yelled at your brother.”

“How do you “kind of” yell at Thor? You either did or you didn’t.” 

“Well, I did.”

Loki smirked, picturing Nebula shouting at Thor who probably had that classic confused look on his face. “I am so sorry that I missed that.”

Nebula glanced at him and the serious look she had made his smirk disappear. “You never told him about what had happened on Thanos’s ship.”

Now Loki didn’t understand where she was going with this or why she had brought it up. “No, I didn’t.”

“I figured as much. I kind of-I _did_ tell him.”

_I could not have heard her right._

“You…you told him?”

“A little bit, yes.”

Loki felt a jab of worry and anxiety in his stomach. He didn’t hold back his concern feelings when he asked, “What did you say?”

And Nebula, as brutally and bluntly honest as ever, answered, “I said that Thanos had you tortured every day for months.”

Loki stared at her, feeling the anxiety spread. Then he sighed almost frustrated. “Oh Nebula, I really wished you hadn’t done that.”

“Look he may be a brainless jerk, but he is your brother. He had a right to know.”

“Yes,” he snapped back, “but _I_ am the one who has the right to tell or not to tell whoever I want.”

“It just slipped out. I was mad, okay?”

“Yes, I know. I’m not upset, I just…” he sighed again, “Stars above, this is going to make life so much more difficult. Because he’s not going to drop it.” No. Knowing Thor, he would question him constantly with that worried look plastered all over his face. Loki hated that look. And if Thor knew about what had happened, however little, then he had to see how weak Loki truly was. That’s how Loki felt. Weak. Weak for ever being put in the horrible situation in the first place. And he wasn’t sure he was ready for Thor to go back to looking at him differently.

Nebula crossed her arms. “If your brother did drop it, I would probably punch him in the jaw.”

Loki had to chuckle at that. “Now that I would love to see.”

She had a glimmer of a smile. “You are so confusing, you know that? You go from mischievous to depressed to self-loving to self-loathing. I’m no expert, but I think that means you have some issues.”

“Only some?”

“Don’t get cute with me,” she said in a tone, but she still had that small smile making it obvious that she wasn’t too upset with him or anything like that. “You know I’m right.”

“Do I?”

“I was right about Thanos and the Mind Stone, you said so yourself. Who’s to say that I’m wrong about this?”

“Just because you got two things right in the past does not mean you are right now.” Nebula raised her eyebrows at him expectedly. “Yes, alright, those two things were pretty monumental things but as you said yourself, you knew Thanos much longer then I had. Just because you have a perceptiveness about him does not mean that you have one about me.” Nebula didn’t say a word but she just continued eyeing him with a, really, are you serious, look. Loki sighed, annoyed with himself. “ _Fine_ , you probably have a perceptiveness over me too, because you know me very well. But-”

“Are you done yet?”

“ _No_.”

Nebula shrugged. “Fine. That’s fine. It’s kind of fun to watch you have an argument with yourself.”

“I’m not-” He stopped himself from going on. This was pointless. Why get all worked up over something that she clearly was right about? “Alright, I yield. Yes, I am inconsistent sometimes when it comes to my emotions and actions. It’s a personality flaw. _Okay?_ Are we done?” Nebula half smirked and glanced at the ground. “What?”

“You make it sound so bad to not be one hundred percent perfect. No one is you know.”

He sighed exasperatedly. “Yes, I know, I just-I’m not-”

Nebula raised both her hands in front of her, as if to stop him. “Okay, clearly this is a subject for another time. How about we talk about something else?”

“What a wonderful idea,” he said, very glad to change the subject. Getting into his self-esteem issues was a talk for another time and even though he trusted Nebula, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell her all about that mess. “What haven’t we talked about so far?”

“We have not discussed how it is daytime and that we’ve been up for seven plus hours.”

“True. Not really a great conversation starter though.”

“There is no pleasing you.”

“Satisfaction is not in my nature.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell.” Nebula uncrossed her legs and stretched them out in front of her on the fury carpet. “Should you check in with the Asgardians?”

Loki had almost forgotten about the refugees. It was a miracle that they all, or at least half of them, were still alive and not just alive, but here. Thor must have been ecstatic to see most of his people safe and sound. And of course Valkyrie. Nebula had told him that the loud mouth warrior had survived the snap. On one hand, he was glad because it was obvious Thor felt something for the woman, but on the other hand he could just picture her storming into the room at any second and start yelling at him for tricking her to get onto the pod ship. And he wasn’t too thrilled to have to potentially deal with her wrath. The last time he pissed her off she had knocked him out and tied him in some chains that were enchanted to prevent magic users from using their magic. In order words, he was stuck where she had left him until she had come back with Thor and Bruce. 

He stretched out his legs as well and then he stood up. “Yes. I should do that.” Nebula nodded understanding. “Want to come with?”

Her head popped back up and she shook her head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why? I am literally just going where the Asgardians are, checking up on them, and then leaving. Besides, I do not know where this shelter is that you said they were in.”

“You could ask your brother,” she grumbled.

“Yes, I could. But I’m not going to.” Nebula sighed in annoyance. “So, you’ll just have to lead me to them.”

“Or you could ask virtually anyone who lives here.”

“Again, yes, I could. But again, I’m-”

“You’re not going to. I get it, I get it. _Fine_.” She stood up and half glared at him. “For being like a thousand years old, you can act like such a twelve year old.”

He laughed at that. “I know it’s not meant to be a compliment, but I’m going to take it as one.”

Nebula rolled her eyes and stalked to the door. “Come on.” He followed close behind still wearing a smirk. “And stop smirking like an idiot!” He laughed again.

…

Nebula had lead him to the seven-story blue building near the heart of Wakanda, filled with just as wondrous tech as the rest of the city. They walked up the inclined planes to the different floors and all Loki did was pop his head through the opened doors to see how everyone was doing. The verdict? Well, everyone who he saw and was still here was doing well. The refugees were a smaller group then what they had started out as, but it was good to see those who remained alive and well. It filled him with an odd feeling. It was like relief but also happiness. He was just glad that his people were safe.

_My people?_

He wasn’t technically an Asgardian, at all, but he felt that he was one and that they were his people. It was dumb. After everything he had done, the Asgardians would be fools to want him as part of them. And also there was that whole thing of them hating Frost Giants so…

“How much longer?” Nebula asked from his side.

“Just a minute. I’m almost done.” If he had left at that moment he probably wouldn’t have gone into the last room to the left on the sixth floor and seen Valkyrie sitting at a silver metal table with her feet perched on the edge of the table, cleaning her sword. The second her saw her, he tried to quickly back out of the room but Nebula was in the way and he almost stepped on her foot.

“Hey, watch it,” she grumbled, and that got Valkyrie’s attention.

The warrior woman glanced up, saw Loki, and set her sword aside with a semi-threatening look. “Well, look who’s alive.”

Loki glanced back at Nebula. “Now you’ve done it.” Nebula threw her arms in the air with a, what are you talking about, look. Loki faced Valkyrie again and stated, “Glad to see the Asgardians are alive even if that means you too.”

Valkyrie blinked unimpressed. “Wow. Was that you’re attempt at hostility, because it needs work. And I’m sure you know it, but what’s up with that bruise?”

Loki stepped further into the room, approaching the table where the woman sat lazily. “The battle was difficult and very nearly deadly. Now, should I be worried that you will try to hit me?”

Valkyrie shook her head no. “No. I’m madder at Thor than anything else.”

“Good.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m overly pleased with you either.”

“I know, but as long as I don’t have to look over my shoulder for your wrath…” That was the last thing he wanted to do. To have the fierce war loving Valkyrie plotting to get back at him, in however small way, was not something to look forward to. At that moment he noticed the equally fierce General Okoye standing in the corner of the room near the large window. “Hello,” he said to the General who just gave him that famous stare of hers.

Valkyrie smirked. “She’s got to have the best death stare in all of the nine realms.”

Okoye turned slightly to look at Valkyrie, her death stare turning to a friendly look. “I don’t know, you have a pretty good one yourself.” Valkyrie chuckled at the complement. 

Loki chuckled in amusement. “I knew you two would get along wonderfully.”

Valkyrie frowned not understanding so she turned back to the General. “What is he going on about?”

The General answered, “Before the battle began, he said that we would get along with each other because we both were warriors that protected the crown and we do not like him,” she pointed at Loki, “very much.”

“Oh, then yes.” Valkyrie turned back to face Loki and folded her hands behind her head. “We do get along in that sense. Although, not liking lackey here is not that original of a character trait.”

“His name is Loki,” Nebula said in that gruff and sassy way that Loki had grown to love. He hadn’t realized that she had followed him all of the way into the room and was now standing next to him with her arms crossed. He wasn’t sure what he liked better, the fact that Nebula had spoken up for him or Valkyrie’s surprised look that Nebula had done so.

“Yeah, I realize that,” Valkyrie said. “Calling him lackey is just a thing I do to get under his skin.” Nebula did not reply but those transfixing eyes of hers set their sights on staring Valkyrie down. And for the first time since Loki had met her on Sakaar, Valkyrie appeared to not have any witty come back or threat to say at Nebula’s stare. In fact she seemed startled by the glare.

Loki half smiled and glanced between the three women in the room and mussed, “Personally out of the three of you, I think that dear Nebula has the best death stare. But you know, that is only my opinion.” After a minute or so, Nebula decided she was done and slowly stalked back to the door to leave.

_I guess we’re leaving._

That was probably a good thing. Watching the three women go into a glaring contest sounded like loads of fun but it would probably lead to an argument at some time. And star’s help the world if Nebula, Valkyrie, and General Okoye got into an argument. Besides, he had checked in with the Asgardians and they all seemed well so that was that. He joined Nebula in leaving the room but before he walked completely out, he turned back to the two warrior women and said in passing as a way to say goodbye, “General, Brunnhilde.”

He hurried out the door and raced through the hallway a bit before he even heard Valkyrie shout out, “Don’t you ever call me Brunnhilde!”

Nebula glanced at Loki. “What did you do now?”

“Oh, nothing. I just couldn’t resist that. Speaking of which, if you ever want to get under Valkyrie’s skin just call her Brunnhilde.”

“Why?”

“That is her real name and apparently she does not like it very much.”

Nebula half smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.” As they exited the blue building, they both saw that the sun had risen in the sky even more. It was a beautiful, warm, and almost hopeful beacon that seemed to state that it was a new day and anything was possible. A new day it was, but the hope for anything to be possible was lost in the reality of the situation. “Looks like it will be a nice day,” Nebula muttered to herself. “You must hate the heat here though.”

“I’m not a fan, no. But I think after all the years of having sometimes blistering summers on Asgard have helped with my adaptability to warmer weather.” As they strolled somewhat causally back to the black building, they noticed Rocket off to the side of the street they walking through. He was sitting alone glaring miserably at the ground. “Should we say something to him?” Loki asked Nebula, slowing down his walking pace so he wouldn’t pass the raccoon.

She stopped walking completely. “Since when did you get involved when it came to comforting strangers?”

“Since like yesterday. Also he was somewhat nice to me when I was dealing with my own problems, I feel like I should do the same. Or something.”

“Suit yourself, but I think I’ll head back to the room.”

“Why?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know me better than most people, Loki. I do not do well when it comes to emotions. And I was the one who had to tell him that the Guardians were gone in the first place. He would not be happy to see me.”

Loki slightly nodded. “Alright. Well…I will just do this and then I will be back shortly.”

“Okay.”

“Alright.”

_You are going to see her again in less than two minutes. Part ways already!_

He awkwardly waved goodbye and stepped back to head where Rocket was. It was odd. He wanted to see how the raccoon was dealing with his losses but he really did not want to leave Nebula’s side. Odd, very odd. “Hello,” he said stepping closer to the sidelines where Rocket sat.

“Hey,” Rocket muttered.

“Nebula told me what happened,” he cleared his throat, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Understandable, I guess.” He glanced down and noticed that Rocket was grabbing fistfuls of the yellow dry looking grass that was growing along the sidelines of the abandoned street and tossing them aside. He looked down the street and saw small piles of uprooted grass. Evidently Rocket had been at this for a while. “I’m sorry, but why exactly are you uprooting grass and then throwing it to the side?”

“Not everyone can take out their anger by destroying a freakin’ room.” Rocket dug his fingers and nails into the dirt and threw another bit of grass and roots with all his strength and it went to the other side of the road.

“Ah, I see…So, I’m just trying to understand. You were upset, no doubt, and then you thought to yourself…destroy the grass?”

Rocket looked up at him for the first time since he came over. “I don’t see why it’s any of your concern.”

“I suppose it is not my concern but I-”

“But nothing. I don’t need some eccentric green clothes wearing jackass to be making jokes when I’m dealing with all this shit.”

“I’m not-”

“You just did with the grass.”

“Okay, but it was not my intent to-”

“Yeah, whatever.” Rocket got to his feet and stomped away in a huff. Loki rubbed his forehead.

_Well, that was a disaster._

He honestly did not think he had been too jokey or insensitive but, who knows? Maybe he was. Or maybe Rocket really didn’t need to talk to anyone right now and he just needed some time to be alone. He decided not to go after him and to head back to the room. He might just catch up with Nebula before she even got to the room.

When he climbed up the stairs off to the side of the black sleek building where he and Bucky had formerly been acquainted, he saw the blonde ex-assassin sitting on the little stone wall that ran alongside the concrete bride that lead to the landing pad where the Quinjet was still parked. “Red.”

Her head spun to look at him and then gave him a small nod. “Loki.” Natasha appeared to be both tired and stressed out. Not a surprise really after everything that had happened only the day before. She crossed her arms and moved around so she was still sitting on the wall, but facing Loki. “Wha’cha you doing out here?”

He was slightly taken aback by the question, since the two of them had never engaged in small talk before. Maybe this was the beginnings of them eventually talking about where they were supposed to go from here. After all, she saved his life. Loki sighed. He was thinking too much again. “Nebula and I went to see how the Asguardians were and then I was trying to talk with Rocket.”

“Rocket is the raccoon right?”

“Correct. Nebula said that his group of friends all disappeared after the snap. I thought I would try…” he drifted off not really wanting to talk about the rest of what happened. “What are you doing out here? I would have thought that with Stark back the Avengers would be regrouping again.”

She started to chuckled. “Yeah. You’re right, but it wasn’t very enjoyable. Tony and Steve love to get into some pretty heated arguments. So, I thought I would take a break from that and just wander around. I kind of hoped that I would run into you.” Loki blinked his eyes at that but before he could reply, Natasha continued with, “I see you still have your war wounds.”

“Yes, well,” he unconsciously reached for his tender and still very sore throat, “um, I never did thank you for what you did.”

Natasha nodded glancing down at the cement. “Yeah. I just…don’t worry about it… Your welcome.” It was the first time he had seem the usually well put together, ten steps ahead of everyone else agent seem so flustered and unsure of herself. Maybe she wasn’t sure what saving him meant either.

He glanced down at the cement too. “Guess we’re not going to talk about if we can trust one other?”

“I mean, if you want to-”

“No. No, I don’t. I was just asking for your benefit.”

Natasha nodded. “Oh. Okay. Cool…” That seemed to be the end of the conversation but then she sighed. “Look, I know what I said at the base and I know how I felt about you, how I still feel about you, but…”

“You are the hero, Agent Romanoff. You would save anyone in trouble. Even me.”

“Maybe.” She looked him right in the eye. “Or maybe I saw a guy trying to protect his friends about to get himself killed and I intervened.”

They really could not go back to where they were before. How they saw each other was so drastically different now. But instead of continuing with this conversation Loki backtracked to something Natasha had said. “Why did you want to run into me again?”

“Oh, I was just curious.”

“About?”

“About the nature of your, um, relationship with Nebula.”

Loki blinked a few times. “…What?”

She shrugged. “She’s the first machine based person that you met that you were talking about, right? And you two obviously have history. What kind of history is the question.”

Loki knew he was giving her a confused look with his mouth open. “… _What?_ ”

Natasha lost her patience. “Are you two an item or not?”

That’s what she thought? She thought that they-oh for star’s sake, give him a break. He swallowed and thought how best to reply to her ridiculous question and then he thought of it. “What did you say to me when I asked you if you were in love with Agent Barton?”

“Love is for children.”

“Exactly.” Loki had never ever thought about having romantic mushy love. He had trouble with just love from family or friends and he was so complicated and inconsistent that he doubted that anybody would be capable of falling in love with him. And he wasn’t even sure if he was able to fall for anyone. Besides, what was that type of love anyways? Something that married couples had and then it became a waiting game to see who despised who first. Not that his mother and Odin hadn’t had a happy marriage. They always seemed to get along. He didn’t know, he just never thought much of all that romantic stuff. 

Natasha as if reading his mind, right on cue said, “Romantic love or not, she cares about you. You see that, right?”

Yes, he did. And it was slightly surprising. They had not been friends during his time on Thanos’s ship, or that’s what she had told him, and yet here they were acting like old friends. If he was being honest to himself, he thought of her as his friend. The closest friend he ever had. He suddenly realized he hadn’t said anything a long time. But what was he supposed to say, certainly none of the things that had been running through his head. So he just shook his head and started to walk away. “Thank you for the conversation, Red. It was very odd.”

“Maybe, but it was _so_ much better than the one between Tony and Steve.”

He chuckled. “I can just about imagine the drama.” Then he left the blonde ex-assassin and headed back to the room where Nebula was no doubt waiting for him.

…

Bruce didn’t know why he needed to be here. He totally did not need to be here in the middle of this fight. In fact, if he wasn’t so exhausted he would have told Rhodey to come with him and they could find Natasha and let Tony and Steve argue it out amongst themselves.

“Look, Tony, I get it-”

“Really? You do? Tell me what you get.”

Steve inhaled trying not to yell. “You’re hurting, but if you haven’t noticed everyone’s hurting. We cannot just go guns blazing into space and hunt down Thanos.”

“Why not?” Tony asked in his usual irresponsible way, although this time his tone was laced with anger. “You said that we were going to figure out a way to fix this. Best thing I can come up with is we track him down, attack him, take the Gauntlet, and bring everyone back.”

“Tony, listen to me-”

“How ‘bout no.”

“Getting everyone who is still alive killed is not going to bring Peter back.”

“Don’t you dare-”

“We have a responsibility to the people who are still here on this planet.”

Steve was holding fast that the Avengers needed to be on Earth to help prevent mass panic, but Tony was dead set on getting revenge on Thanos and somehow miraculously bringing everyone who disappeared back. Both plans had their drawl backs and their good points, but honestly Bruce was too tired to care or to put in his two cents. So he just slouched over the silver table he sat at watching the two leaders of the Avengers go back and forth on what they were supposed to do, while his headache got larger and larger. He never got that bottle of aspirin that he had wanted. Everyone in the room probably needed it. Maybe Shuri had some or maybe she could just stick some of those metal beads to the temples of everyone’s heads.

Shuri had left with her mother and M’Baku not too long after healing Tony’s wound. The young genius girl and her mother had left to finally mourn properly and to get some rest. M’Baku had to take care of his Jabari tribe and he felt that he wanted to check in with the rest of the Wakandan warriors. M’Baku might have been a little overbearing and even a little more obnoxious but he was a good man and leader. He technically wasn’t the leader of the entirety of Wakanda but…boy, he sometimes acted like it.

Tony who was still glaring at Steve, let out a deep breath. “You know, you and I can go around and around on this forever probably and not get any closer to figuring this out. I mean, we’ve done that before, haven’t we?” 

Steve walked around the table and stood closer to the window looking out over the city. “I don’t mean to fight, I just think that we need to focus our attention here before going after Thanos without any sort of plan.”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and said defiantly, “I have a plan: attack.”

Steve pressed his fingers into his temples and muttered, “Tony, you and I both know that’s not good enough.”

“Maybe. But I already had this great plan laid out and I lost. You had your great plan laid out and you lost. Maybe we just need to, I don’t know, change it up. Do something so crazy that it’s bound to work.”

“Is that what’s going through your head?” Steve asked in a tone. “The crazier the better and maybe somehow luck will be on our side?” Tony shrugged. Steve shook his head. “That is so naïve and I know that you know that.”

“Do I?” Tony snapped. “Every second we waste-don’t you see that I’m just trying to get…” He shook his head, apparently too mad to go on. He then glanced at Rhodey standing near the door and Bruce sitting at the table and from his surprised look, Bruce could tell that he had forgotten that they were both still in the room. Tony focused his sights on Bruce. “What do you think?”

Bruce sat up straight. “What?”

“What is your opinion on this? Should we stay here and help the people of Earth or should we try to defeat Thanos and bring back those who are gone, therefore we forgo the whole preventing the mass hysteria that Cap is so damn worried about.”

Bruce closed his eyes and shook his head. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“You know how long it has been since I’ve slept? You two do realize its morning, right? I am in no mood to try and think about this. And don’t pull me into this drama between you guys and make me be the tiebreaker. That’s just mean.” Tony tilted his head to the side and gave Bruce an odd look and Steve nodded understandingly. At that moment, Bruce saw Thor walk past the door. “Hey, Thor!” 

Everyone in the room jumped and Thor came back to the doorway, taking one step into the room. “What?”

“Hey, can you help these guys,” Bruce pointed to Tony and Steve, “with their problem of deciding what to do next?”

Rhodey scoffed from where he was standing. “Way to get the attention off of you and onto someone else.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows at Rhodey. “Would you like to put in your thoughts on the matter?”

“Not really.”

“Well, then Thor can-” He glanced at Thor and he had to do a double take. The gruff and strong man for some reason looked so lost and small. He looked like someone had told him the worst thing in the entire world and he had no idea how to process it. “Are you okay?”

Tony and Steve both looked to the God man and saw what Bruce saw. “Thor?” Steve asked taking a step towards him. “Is everything alright with the Asguardians?” Thor was glaring at the floor and did not answer Steve’s question. “Thor?”

“Hmm?” he asked, still in his own world.

“You seem a little out of sorts, Point Break,” Tony said.

Thor nodded his head and said quietly, “I haven’t really slept. At all. I’ve just been…thinking.” He looked up and seemed to realize he was in the room for the first time. “I’m sorry, did you all want something?”

Steve shook his head softly. “No, we’re fine. Are you?”

“Yeah, sure, I just need to, um, keep thinking. Well…I should be, uh…yeah.” He turned around and left the room with that lost hurt look still written all over his face.

Tony glanced between the three other men in the room. “That was weird. Right? I know I haven’t seen the guy in like two years but that was weird right?”

Bruce nodded. “A little bit yes.” It was extremely weird. Thor wasn’t one to hold back his feelings on something, he was a very open person. And he had already expressed his feelings on what he thought they should do when it came to Thanos and he had been a lot less vengeful acting when Valkyrie and the Asgardians arrived. So something had to happen to make him be in this weird funk of his. What could have happened to make the mighty Thor seem so lost? Bruce stood from his chair. “You know what guys, I think I’m going to see if he’s alright.”

Steve nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah. And hey, if you two,” he glanced between Tony and Steve, “still need an unwilling tiebreaker, why don’t you just ask Rhodey where he stands with this whole “what do we do next” dilemma?”

Rhodey threw his hands in the air. “Seriously? What did I ever do to you, Bruce? I don’t want to be dragged in the middle of this either.”

“Sorry,” Bruce muttered as he walked away from the drama and stress that seemed to follow Tony and Steve around. He went in the direction Thor had when he had left and it took about ten minutes but Bruce finally tracked him down. Thor had left the black sleek building and had gone to the small garden that Bruce, Natasha, and Rhodey had been in before the battle began. 

It was a mix of what you would traditionally see in a garden and some wonderful technological advances that you would never think to be in a garden. There were several finely pruned shrubs, long limbed trees, delicate flowers of several different hues, and a fountain in the middle carved out of white marble that had a panther as its focal point with water spurting from its mouth. Those were what made it seem like an ordinary garden. What made it extraordinary was the clear glass fifty feet above it supported by very large glass pillars. The glass was like the many different screens that Shuri had used, as projections could be seen dancing on the glass and the significance of the projections were they controlled the temperature and weather conditions of the different parts of the huge garden. If there was a section of the garden had trees that needed lots of water and another that had flowers that needed really warm weather in order to grow, then more than likely it would be raining in part of the garden and extremely warm in the other part at the same time.

Thor was sitting on a bench in a fairly warm section of the garden next to purple and yellow flowers with large petals. Bruce walked the stone path leading towards him and sat next to him. “Hello.”

“Hey,” Thor muttered. Bruce decided he wasn’t going to push Thor. Pushing never solved anything. He would let Thor tell him what was bugging him in his own time. And Thor was quiet for several long seconds before he asked, “You’re going to stay here, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

Thor sighed. “Okay… How’s Tony?”

Bruce shrugged. “Good, I guess. He’s all healed up, but he’s taking all of his own losses pretty hard.” He started to chuckle humorlessly. Now he knew he was dead tired. “Tony and Steve reunited less than eight hours ago and they have basically been fighting the whole time.”

Thor shook his head tiredly. “Sounds about right for those two.”

“Yeah.”

The silence that followed was not at all comfortable. Thor was fidgeting around with an unusual air of anxiety around him and Bruce wanted to be patient but he was finding it difficult to not just bluntly ask why he was acting so weird. Thor finally turned to Bruce. “Can I confide something to you?”

Bruce nodded. “Of course you can. What is it?”

Thor took in a deep breath and clasped his hands together. “Alright, when Loki came to Earth all those years ago I was convinced that someone was helping him. I asked him who controlled the would be king and gave him his army, his scepter but…but by that point he was too far gone. Now I know that it was Thanos who had given him the scepter and the army. But-but I never thought…”

Bruce watched Thor carefully seeing his friend’s eyes flash with a deep sadness and an extreme amount of rage. “Thor?”

Thor shook his head quickly. “You didn’t see Loki before Thanos attacked us or before you came to tell me that the Asgardians were here. Bruce, he was shaking. _Shaking._ He’s absolutely terrified of Thanos. I wanted to know why and I wanted to ask how that Nebula girl knew so much about Loki, so I asked her and she kind of answered both my questions. She said that Thanos had…had Loki…tortured every day for months… Months!” Bruce had been leaning in slightly closer to Thor so he could hear what he was saying because he was saying it so quietly, but he jumped back when Thor suddenly shouted. Then Bruce could hear thunder start to loudly boom and crack in the distance. He didn’t need conformation that it was not from the glass over the garden. He knew it was Thor. “That heartless bastard,” Thor added quietly, clenching his fists as small bits of lightning formed around them and sizzled out into the air.

Of all the things that crossed Bruce’s mind of what was bothering Thor, never in his wildest dreams had he thought it would be what Thor had said. His jaw dropped slightly. “So, wait-why- why would…when did-did this even happen?”

Thor kept his barely contained rage together. “According to Nebula, it was after Loki fell from the Bifrost that Thanos got his hands on him.” The thunder grew louder. “It makes sense now. He falls from the bridge and then a year later he is alive and he has this crazy poisonous idea to take over Earth. I…I never could figure it out. Why he had changed so dramatically. I thought… It’s because of him. Thanos. I know it is.” Thor took several deep breaths trying to calm down while Bruce just stared at Thor trying to wrap his head around this new information. 

“Thor, I…” What was he supposed to say to him?

Thor shook his head and said in barely above a whisper, “Loki was so quiet before, so thoughtful. Always practicing his spells, reading. Always showing he was smarter than me by pulling off those pranks of his. And he had been hurting. So much. Bruce, he was almost always ignored by basically everyone. Because of me. And I took advantage of him for so many years, for so many centuries…and then he falls victim to Thanos and…and I didn’t even stop to question why he acted so differently. For over a year I almost hated him for what he had done and it probably wasn’t even his idea in the first place. What kind of brother am I to not be able to see what is directly in front of me?”

Bruce felt like he had been slapped in the face. _“And it probably wasn’t even his idea in the first place.”_ Loki’s scepter. It had the Mind Stone in it, that’s how he was able to take over Clint’s and others’ minds, but if Thanos gave it to him…who was to say that Thanos didn’t use it on Loki to take over his mind? That could totally explain why he had gone from a crazy guy trying to kill everyone to a mischievous guy who was at least trying to do the right thing. Now Bruce felt like an idiot for not seeing it either. “Thor,” he began, “just because you didn’t see it doesn’t mean that you are a bad brother. Nobody saw it. We all just took Loki’s actions as face value and none of us thought that there was something more going on.”

Thor nodded silently and unclenched his hands. The thunder started to become more and more in the distance. The next thing he said had nothing to do with what Bruce had said. “You know, I wondered for hours after Nebula told me, why Loki had never told me. But now I know why. He would have felt ashamed and like it was his fault and he would have worried that I would look at him differently.”

“Why would he blame hims-?”

“Because that’s what he does!” Bruce jumped back again. “When Rocket and I had found him, he had destroyed an entire room and when I tried to comfort him he said this whole thing with Thanos was his fault. He said he had known about Thanos and his plan for years and since he hadn’t said anything about it, it was his fault.”

Maybe Bruce should have just stayed in the room with the two stubborn leaders of the Avengers because sitting here listening to Thor had just made his headache worse. “Loki could not have been the only person in the entire galaxy who knew about Thanos.”

“That’s exactly what I said! But I don’t think he believed me. Dammit, I wish there was a way to convince him it’s not his fault. God, if he’s beating himself up over this, what could he be thinking about New York?”

Bruce sighed. “Look, the important thing to know is that you shouldn’t push Loki about this, but you should tell him everything you just told me. You should both just bring everything out into the open, that way maybe you will both be able to move forward.” Man, at what point had he become the group’s therapist?

Bruce wasn’t sure if he had reached Thor or not, but then suddenly Thor got to his feet. “You are right. I just need to talk to him. Right. That’s the best thing to do.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself of his words.

Bruce eyed Thor for a moment before saying, “Do you want me to come with you?”

“God, yes. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to approach the topic. What do I say? Hello, brother. Did you have a nice sleep? Oh, by the way the blue girl told me you were tortured for months on end and I want to talk about it.”

Bruce rubbed his pounding temples as he stood up as well. “Please don’t do that. You’ll know the best thing to say when the moment comes.”

“And if I don’t?” Thor asked with genuine worry.

“Give yourself a little more credit. You are his brother, you know him better than anyone else.”

“I used to think that as well. But now I’m not so sure.” And together they left the garden and headed for the room where they had left Loki.

…

After talking about what had happened between him and Rocket and telling about his conversation with Natasha, minus the whole part where she insinuated that he and Nebula were involved in a “more than friends” relationship, Loki was officially out of things to talk about. Well, he was sure he could have come up with something but as it turned out Nebula was a bit tired. He asked her if she wanted him to leave so she could sleep on the couch for a while but she said no. She did however have a request: she wanted to see his calm memory. He had no problem with that.

He flicked his hand and the green glow shined from his hand and then it went around the entirety of the room transforming it into the beautiful golden field from his childhood. They both sat in silence, again on the carpeted floor, watching the memory unfold to the point where young Loki and young Thor frightened those small white butterflies. Nebula was sitting against the wall in the room but because of the illusion it looked like she was sitting against a large trunked tree in the shade. She half smiled. “It’s amazing that your illusions look so real.”

“Well, that is kind of the point.”

“How can it “kind of” be the point? It either is or it isn’t.”

Loki smirked at hearing her throw his own words from earlier back at him. “Hilarious.”

She smiled again and focused back on the illusion. “Is there a way to make them solid?”

“Yes. Although, they take more concentration and energy so I usually just stick with theses.” Nebula nodded as the memory reached its end and the field slowly morphed back into the high tech room. 

“Can I ask you something?” she asked, sounding unsure.

“Of course.”

“Isn’t it painful to relive these happy memories?”

He thought about it for a moment. “Sometimes. But even if I did not use magic to engulf reality for a moment, I would still be thinking about it so I should just do it this way.”

“In other words, I’m going to do it anyways so I should do it the right way.”

“Correct.”

She shook her head. “If I could do what you can…I don’t think I would want to conjure up memories. I would be too tempted to conjure up ones that were not real. I would be bound to get lost in the fantasy of a better life.” She sat quietly for the next minute appearing to want to say something else.

Loki misread what he thought she wanted to say. He thought she was going to say something more about her past to try and make him understand. She didn’t have to, because he did understand, but that’s not what she wanted to say. “Nebula-”

“You know, you weren’t just another prisoner to me.” She had said it all with one breath and when she was finished she looked him right in the eye. 

Loki blinked a few times. “I’m sorry?”

“I pretended that you were just another prisoner but the truth is I did miss you when you left and I was so upset when I thought you were dead. Loki, you are the only friend I have ever had…”

_She is my friend…_

Nebula continued on. “I couldn’t kill Gamora because I wanted her to be my sister but also because I thought she was all I had left. I lost you and she was it… Now I have you and I lost her.” She suddenly started to tear up more than he had ever seen before. “I can’t seem to win, can I? I just…I don’t know what I am supposed to do now.”

Loki stared at the poor girl a second more before standing up and walking over to her and sitting right down next to her. She barely seemed to notice until he patted her shoulder. “I know. I understand. What Thanos stole from you, from me, from everyone, there is no easy way to move on. We just have to make the simple peace that we are here and they are not and…it is terrible but right now there is nothing we can do…” It wasn’t very helpful, he knew that. He just felt like he should try to say something semi-comforting. He sighed, “I have Thor, Bruce, and you. And you have me. I promise, you’ll always have me-”

She practically jumped him when she suddenly threw her arms around him in an almost death hug. He was shocked by it but not completely. It took him a moment to realize he should probably hug her back. It was slightly awkward and yet at the same time it felt perfectly normal to put his arms around her slender form and hold her. They sat there for who knows how long until Nebula half whispered half cried, “Gamora was his favorite daughter and he didn’t even think twice about it. Her life for that damn Soul Stone.” 

“I know,” he said patting her back.

“A soul for a soul,” she added with disgust.

Yes. The fantastical Soul Stone, hidden away for eons in a place where no one could find and even if you could find it, you had to sacrifice the person you loved most in order to get the soul controlling and entrapping stone-

_Wait…wait. Could it really be that simple?_

What did the Soul Stone do in the long run for Thanos’s plan of wiping out half of the universe? All the other stones had a specific purpose, did they not? In order to carry out his plan, Thanos would need something that could warp _reality_ and had an immense amount of _power_. Something that could wipe out the _minds_ and bodies of half of everyone throughout all of _space_ and _time_. All who vanished were no longer on the plane of the living, that much was very clear, and he had assumed like everyone else who remained that they were dead and gone. But were they really? Where had their _souls_ gone? What if they were not in the afterlife plane at all? What if they were in some sort of soul world created by the Soul Stone? 

Because wasn’t that what the Soul Stone did? 

It controlled and entrapped souls. 

_“A soul for a soul.”_

In exchange for wielding its power, the stone took all of the souls of those who vanished. 

And if they were in this “Soul World” well, then they were not dead, they were just trapped. And if that were the case, all worlds can be visited in one way or another.

Loki had become still. “Could it be possible…?” he murmured.

Nebula sniffed and wiped at her eyes when she pulled slightly away to look at him. “What?”

He looked at her with wide eyes not really seeing her because his mind was going a million different directions after having this breakthrough. If he was right then it might be possible to go to the Soul World and rescue those who were gone. But only if he was right. There had to be a way to test his theory-

_The ritual. The one that mother said was too dangerous to do._

Of course, the ritual to walk in the afterlife plane for an unlimited amount of time. If he did the spell and walked amongst the deceased and could not find a single person who had vanished then it meant that his theory was correct. He had to go and do that spell. _Now._

“Loki.” He looked at Nebula and saw that she appeared both confused and worried. “What is it?”

“I…I am so sorry but I need to go and test a theory.”

“What?”

He took his arms away from her and slowly stood up. “I’ll be back in a minute. I swear. Fifteen minutes. Tops.” He started to leave feeling guilty for leaving in a rush but this took priority. And he needed to do the spell while lying on a completely flat surface. Like the metal table in Shuri’s lab. As he walked through the door and turned down the hall he almost ran, quite literally, into Thor and Bruce.

Bruce appeared more tired than usual and Thor looked almost nervous. Bruce held out his hands when Loki almost ran into them. “Whoa, please don’t run anybody over. Specifically me.”

“Sorry about that,” Loki said in a rush.

Thor cleared his throat. “Ah, Loki, brother, I just wanted to come and talk to-”

“Yeah, now’s not really a good time. I need to go test my theory.”

“What?” Thor asked now looking very confused. “What are you-Wait!-where are you going?”

Loki had already started jogging through the halls to get to Shuri’s lab but he called over his shoulder, “I need to test my theory, give me a minute.” Knowing Thor, Bruce, and Nebula they would probably follow him. That was okay, as long as he could concentrate on casting his spell. Two minutes later he ran into Shuri’s lab and saw Stark, the dear Captain, and Rhodey all standing around. “Hello, I’m going to need to borrow this room.”

Stark glanced at him and then did a double take. “Reindeer Games, what the hell happened to you?” he asked pointing to Loki’s neck.

“Thanos has a tight grip. Stark, good to see you’re alive. Now let me reiterate, get out.”

Stark crossed his arms. “We were here first.”

“Oh brother,” Rhodey muttered, rubbing his head. “Now we’ve got two guys who act like kids all the time.”

The dear Captain decided to put an end to that and simply asked Loki, “What do you need the room for?”

“I need to lay on a flat surface to test my theory.”

Stark narrowed his eyes at him not at all understanding. “Alright, is anyone else confused?”

Loki sighed annoyed, “Oh for star’s sake, never mind.” He walked to the metal table and got on it. “Nobody say anything, I need to concentrate.” He laid down on the perfectly flat surface and remembered the steps to the ritual. He closed his eyes, crossed his arms in an “X” across his chest, raised one hand in the air, waited for it to glow green before he raised the other one, and waited for it to glow as well. And then he whispered the spell that he had whispered all those years ago, “With the power of life in the multiple dimensions, allow me to walk with the dead for a moment.” He twisted his hands to make the glow increase and then unlike the last time he tried to do the ritual, he was able to slam his hands down at his sides against the hard metal table and boost his soul or astral body or whatever it was into the afterlife plane.

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_Author's Note: I was a big believer in the Soul World theory and I don't care what Endgame said, I believe that everyone who disappeared was somewhere for the five years. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!_


	10. Chapter Nine: Vivid Rainbow Sky

The last thing Loki remembered was lying on the strangely comfortable metal table in Shuri’s lab slamming his hands down at his sides, boosting himself into the afterlife plane. Then a warm calmness passed over him and he felt like he was floating. He did not open his eyes at first, he didn’t want to break the spell or anything of that nature. After a few seconds of this odd floating sensation he felt himself lying back down on something, but not a metal table. It felt like he was laying out in a grassy soft field. He almost didn’t want to get up, he felt so calm and relaxed he thought he might fall asleep here.

_You have to test your theory. Now, get up._

Loki opened his eyes a crack and saw that it appeared that he was outside. He opened his eyes all the way and saw the large and vast sky above him. It was beautiful and beyond comparison to anything he had ever seen before. The sky was so clear that he thought that he might be able to reach up and touch it. But it was the color that amazed him the most. The color was a mix between electric blue and midnight blue that had lilac purple lights dancing across the blue. It was like an Aura Borealis but the colors had been changed around and this was ten times more breathtaking.

He slowly sat up into a sitting position. He was in a field of jade and emerald colored grass that seemed to stretch on and over the horizon forever just like the sky did. “Stars above, it actually worked,” he muttered out loud. Had he not had a singular purpose for being here he might have just sat there and chuckle to himself that one, he had actually done it and two, he was actually seeing the afterlife plane with his own two eyes. And it was incredible.

But he couldn’t stay here. How long he had was unclear he just knew that couldn’t spend too much time here or else he would be a live person trapped in a world of the dead. As he stood up he noticed that his clothes were fresher and not stained with his blood from the battle earlier. And his throat and neck no longer hurt him. He felt his neck with his fingers and was slightly shocked to find that it was not sensitive at all.

_Amazing._

He felt stronger and less tired then he had in the past two days. He was more than ready to begin his search for those who had vanished. The only real question was, which way did he go? Every direction looked as if it would lead to nowhere except for more of the field. He was trying to figure this out when he heard a loud swooshing sound behind him. When he spun around he could have sworn that he had seen a blur of blue moving very quickly to the South.

Loki had no clue what that blur was but he had this unexplainable feeling that he should follow it or at the very least go in the same direction that it had been going in. So he walked across the field in the ankle high grass, going to the South. He wasn’t sure if he was making the right decision or not but he felt so very certain of himself that he was going where he needed to be.

How very odd. Being sure of himself wasn’t one of his strong suits. But this place…It felt like all of his worries and doubts and insecurities and self-hate just melted away into nothing. He truly wanted to explore this place more and even stay awhile. It was so tempting when the thought crossed his mind, but… No. Of course he wasn’t going to stay. Just long enough to walk around and search for the others.

He saw what appeared to be a city come up over the horizon. Apparently, he had made the right decision by coming this way. As he got closer he took note that it was not a grand city like Wakanda or even New York. It was a poor and broken apart city and yet, it had a weird little charm to it. Loki continued walking towards the city and as he did the grass became less and less until he was no longer stepping on the soft earth but on a stone brick sidewalk. He glanced around at the towering skyscrapers and the lowly alley ways.

The city was eerily quiet.

There was no sound of traffic or cars, in fact he didn’t see a single car parked along any of the abandoned streets. The only sign of live that he saw at this point was some pigeons flying through the air and then landing in the little grass by the small trees planted amongst the concrete of the sidewalk.

_Where is everyone?_

No sooner did he think that question, he heard a child laugh. He looked up and saw that there was a park several hundred feet in front of him. He silently walked closer but he stayed off to the sidelines. There was a little boy running through the park, a young woman running along with the boy, probably the boy’s mother, and an older man who sat on a bench watching them with a sad smile. Watching the scene made Loki think of it as any other family out for a day at the park but he had to remind himself that this was the afterlife plane. Therefore these people were dead. The older man he understood but it was the thirty something year old woman and the little boy that got to him. Life was short enough as it was without it being snatched away from people.

He stood there, partially hidden by a growing oak tree, watching the boy and the young mother remembering what it had been like to be so carefree with his own mother. Then he heard the swoosh again and a man in a thick accent say, “They are a nice family.”

Loki jumped backwards and saw a young man standing next to him. His hair was white, like bleached white, with a few of his roots still a more natural shade of brown. He had a little mustache and beard on his face, but it was nothing like Thor’s or the dear Captain’s. He wore a simple pair of black pants and white running shoes, but his shirt was slightly unusual. It was light blue with dark blue shelves and white diagonals on both sides that almost resembled lightning bolts. Loki shook his head in confusion at the sight of the man now next to him. Besides the swoosh sound he hadn’t heard anything. So how did this guy manage to walk up beside him without him knowing it? 

The man smiled with a mischievous smile at Loki’s reaction. “Sorry about surprising you,” he said not at all sounding sorry. “I saw you before in the grass and then again here watching the Zemo family, so I decided to see who you are.”

Loki looked the man up and down with raised eyebrows.

_He saw me in the grass? How? There was no one when I woke up and there certainly was no place for him to hide. That does not make-_

“You’re new,” the man said not asking, but stating. 

Loki shook away his confusion. “Ah, I suppose you could say that.”

The man nodded. “Hmm. You seem…lost.”

“That’s because I am.” Maybe lost was the wrong word, but he for sure did not know where he was going to go next after this odd city.

“Interesting,” the man mumbled.

“How so?”

The man looked up and it was the first time Loki noticed the man’s chocolate brown eyes that were shockingly similar to Wanda’s. “People who come here are never lost. They just go where they need to go. You know?”

Loki nodded with some sense of understanding. “They just know where their loved ones are.”

“Pretty much. Take me for explain. When I got here I knew to come here and find my parents in the old apartment that we grew up in. Do you need help finding your family and friends? I can probably spare a few seconds.”

“No, I do not need any- _seconds_?”

The white haired young man shrugged. “Yeah. That is all the time it would take for me to run around and find them for you.”

Loki was lost until it hit him like a ton of bricks. The accent and eyes similar to Wanda’s, the ability to run around with super speed. The blue blur he had seen had been this man. Not just any man, Wanda’s twin brother. “You’re Pietro Maximoff.”

“Yeah,” Pietro said with a smile. He was apparently happy to be recognized. “Some people call me Quicksilver.”

Wanda hadn’t mentioned that. “Oh? And who are these people?”

“Well…mostly myself.” Loki couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “But that’s not important right now. How do you know me?” Pietro crossed his arms and stepped closer to Loki. “Because we certainly didn’t meet before this. I would have remembered a man in such cool looking clothes as yours.”

“I know your sister.”

Pietro blinked a few times, his curiosity turning into a hurt longing. “Oh…” Loki was kicking himself for being so blunt. He was blaming Nebula for this, she was obviously rubbing off on him. “You seem like the kind of person who would know my sister and be in the Avengers. You certainly dress like it.”

Loki half chuckled and started to say, “No, I’m not a member-”

“How is Wanda? She doing okay?”

“Actually, that is part of the reason why I am here.” Loki took in a deep breath and tried to say what he was going to say next carefully and less blunt. “Is your sister here?”

Pietro scrunched his eyebrows together. “I don’t understand.”

Loki’s intentions of being nice and less blunt faded away. “Is your sister, Wanda Maximoff, here in the afterlife plane? Yes or no?”

Pietro laughed, “Wow. Sassy one, aren’t you? No, Wanda is not here.”

“You’re positive?”

Pietro nodded his head rapidly. “Yes. If she were here I would know. You just know it when those you left behind are here. Why do you want to know if she is here? You think she is dead?”

Pietro had said everything in such a rush, Loki was quiet for a few seconds after he had finished speaking just so he could make sure he got everything that had been said. “Well, you see-”

Pietro interrupted him again. “Because she isn’t. She isn’t here. So what is happening?”

Loki sighed trying not to get impatient. “As I was trying to say-”

“I mean how do you not know if a person is dead or not? Unless, is she missing in action? Is that? Did she go on a mission and did she never come back?”

The man’s worry for his twin was perfectly understandable and even expected, but stars above, his constant interrupting with fast spoken questions was getting on Loki’s last nerve. “If you would shut up for two damn minutes then maybe I could tell you.”

Pietro closed his mouth, stopping himself from asking more questions. But he did say quietly, “ _Very_ sassy. You are only a few more sassy comments away from being a full tilt diva.”

“…I have no clue what to say to that so, I’ll just say thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Loki rubbed both his temples, starting to feel a mild headache despite the calm air that was still around him. “Look, I am here because your sister and several others-actually, _millions_ of others all disappeared across the entire universe. I thought they were dead, now I’m not too sure, and I just thought that coming here would be the best way to see if those who disappeared are actually dead or not.”

Pietro uncrossed his arms and suddenly looked serious. “You are not dead?”

Loki sighed, “Obviously not.”

Pietro blinked his eyes and shook his head. “Wow. I’ve never seen a live person come here. I mean, sure, there have been some visitors. But even they just know where to go. Never have I seen a live wander… Who all are you looking for?”

Loki started listing them off. “Your sister, Bucky Barnes, King T’Challa, Sam Wilson, a group called the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Steven Strange, and Spider-“Man”. I do not know the real name to that last one.”

Pietro started walking around in a small circle, contemplating on something. Then he stopped and said to Loki, “Let me take you to some others who might be able to help you. I can tell you that for sure Wanda is not here but, I couldn’t tell you one way or another on those other people you mentioned.”

Loki nodded. “Alright. Take me to these-” Pietro suddenly grabbed his arm and the entire world became a fast blur of light and color and when it stopped they both were no longer standing on the sidewalk behind the tree near the Zemo family. They were on the outskirts of the city, standing on the stone sidewalk where the green grass was starting to grow up between the cracks. Loki looked around slightly confused but mostly he was annoyed. “What? What just happened and how did we get here?”

Pietro laughed at him again. “You didn’t see that coming? If you know who I am then you shouldn’t be surprised and with all your sass, I would’ve thought you had some perceptiveness to you.”

“ _I do_. Stars above, Wanda was right about you being a handful.”

“Look who’s talking, old man.”

Loki rounded on the speedster. “I beg your pardon?”

Pietro shrugged. “Your clothes. They’re designed very similarly to Thor’s. He was an Asgardian. Are you an Asgardian too?”

“Well, it’s…” He did not really want to get into this with Wanda’s twin brother. “Sort of.”

“And Asgardians live to be hundreds of years old, yes? Therefore, you are an old man.”

“…Where are these people that you talked about?”

Pietro started walking in the grass. “They should be just up ahead.”

“Marvelous, then I can be done with dealing with you.”

“You have no patience, you know that, man?”

“Wow, now look who has the perceptiveness to him. For your information, on a good day my patience is _very_ limited but after what recently happened…” Loki trailed off, not wanting to start to relive it all. He already had with Nebula and that was enough. Pietro seemed to understand or at the very least he was smart enough to not push Loki about it. 

As they went farther away from the city and more into the field of grass Loki saw that the grass was different colors in certain areas. In some places it was crimson red, in others a golden yellow. It was a mix of these three colors and the sky had changed drastically too. It was no longer a vivid deep blue but a hazy sky blue with bouncing and flickering lights of vastly different colors. In certain areas the lights were sea foam green with hints of pink, in others the lights were ruby red, and in others still the lights were an autumn orange. Of all the worlds that Loki had been to, he had never seen a rainbow sky. And that’s not where the amazement stopped. In each direction there were other cities peaking up over the horizon. One looked like New York, another one looked like New York as well but slightly old fashioned, and the other looked like a city from another planet. “This place is fascinating.”

Pietro chuckled. “Yes, it is. The cities are replicas of those from the life you left behind. It’s like you went to a better, carefree version of your life.”

“So, that city back there,” Loki said pointing behind him. “That’s where you lived in the plane of the living?”

Pietro nodded. “Yeah, Sokovia. It’s a poor, crime ridden little city, but hey, its home. Now, of course this version of Sokovia is practically paradise.”

That meant that the afterlife plane was much larger than Loki had previously imagined. If there were cities from all the different worlds here with billions upon billions of people…this was going to take a lot longer than expected. Then again, if Pietro knew for sure that Wanda wasn’t here, then maybe these other people would be able to tell him for sure about the others. “Are we there yet?”

“Almost.”

“Then when will these others come?”

“Well, for one I’m here,” an older blue man said in a gruff and scratchy voice. He wore a black and red coat with a Ravagers patch sown just underneath the left collar and oddly enough he had a red fin attached to his head that looked like a Mohawk. The man picked at his jagged teeth with his finger nail and looked at Loki. “You ain’t from around here, are you, boy?”

Loki didn’t much appreciate being called “boy” because more than likely he was older than this man. “No, and I’m not a boy.”

“Well, I reckon you ain’t no girl.”

Loki shook his head. “No, that’s not what I…” He stopped himself from going on and chuckled humorlessly. “Stars above, everyone’s a smartass today, aren’t they?”

The blue man smiled, showing off his imperfect teeth. “Now you’re startin’ to catch on, boy.” His red eyes glanced over Loki and then went over to Pietro. “Hey, Maximoff, who is this guy anyways?”

Pietro half smirked. “You know with everything that just happened, I never got around to asking.”

“Why don’t you ask him now? He is standin’ right here.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Yes, _he_ is standing right here. Can you both stop talking about me like I’m not here and can we _please_ move onto more important matters?”

“Wow,” the blue man said. “You got some fire in ya, boy. I like that.”

Loki threw his hands in the air and said sarcastically, “Well, I aim to impress and please. Glad to help you out with that.”

The blue man let out a deep laugh and didn’t stop for several seconds. “Ah, that was a good one. Since you seem determined to keep yourself anonymous, I reckon I should at least introduce myself. I’m Yondu Udonta, once the leader of one of the sections of the Ravagers.”

Well that explained the different colored coat. Most Ravagers’ uniforms were completely red, but Yondu’s had some black mixed in with the red leather. And Yondu…he knew that name didn’t he? Then he remembered. “You helped the so called Guardians of the Galaxy kill the planet creature.”

“Ego? Yeah, that sure was a hella of a time. That’s how I ended up here in this colorful place. How’d you hear about it?”

“Nebula’s a friend.”

“The blue gal with the machinery parts?” Loki nodded. “Uh-huh. Well, what can I do to help ya out?”

Pietro answered, “He needs to know if certain people are here or not.”

An African man with gray hair draped in specially knitted orange and red material stepped up to the little group and said in a serious tone, “Certain people? What does this mean? If he has just arrived then he should know where he belongs and who is waiting for him.”

Loki stared at the man.

_I know that accent too…_

It was a Wakandan accent. Could it be that this was T’Challa and Shuri’s father?

Yondu shrugged. “With all due respect, your former majesty, I think the boy isn’t a newbie. I reckon he’s, I don’t know, a-”

“A live one,” said another new voice. Loki turned around to the female voice behind him. He saw a pale bald woman dressed in fancy yellow robes. The robes were designed kind of like Strange’s blue outfit that he wore. The woman stared at Loki with a knowledgeable and fascinated stare. “Aren’t you?”

“That is correct. And you are?”

She smiled and stepped closer to the group and ended up standing next to Yondu. “The Ancient One.”

“The Ancient One?” Loki asked biting back a chuckle. “That’s just your name then? So, first name Ancient, last name One? Do I call you Miss One?”

The Ancient One continued to stare at Loki with a remembrance of curiosity. “The way you got here, it’s a very peculiar ritual. Unlike those done by others, and like your tribes,” she nodded to the African man, “there was a ritual to walk in the afterlife plane for however long as the person chose. It’s dangerous, reckless, and it takes a certain amount of strength and concentration.” She was silent for maybe a minute thinking over the words she had just spoken. Then she faced Loki head on. “Who are you?”

She was interesting. Actually, if he was being honest everyone here was interesting. “My name is Loki. I am here to see if some of my friends and some others are here.”

Pietro turned in surprise to face Loki too. “Loki? I know who you are. Guess the Avengers decided to let other former enemies join the group.”

Loki sighed again. “Alright, I am not a member of the Avengers.”

“No?” Pietro said in surprise. “You said you knew my sister.”

“I do. Look, I was helping the Avengers fight against the mad Titan Thanos.”

The Ancient One’s eyes widened. “Thanos?” she whispered. “He is after the Infinity Stones again?”

“Yes and he achieved what he always wanted. Half the entire universe is just…gone.”

“No,” she said, perhaps not believing it.

“ _Yes_. Now, I thought that those who vanished were dead but then I thought maybe there was a chance that they were only entrapped in the Soul Stone. That’s why I am here. I needed to be sure that they are not dead.”

“Who are you looking for?” the African man asked.

Loki listed the names again. “Wanda Maximoff, Bucky Barnes, King T’Challa,” the African man’s eyes widened, “Sam Wilson, the Guardians of the Galaxy except for Rocket, Dr. Steven Strange,” the Ancient One sighed sadly, “and a somewhat helpful Spider-Boy.”

Yondu was the first to speak. “You’re saying that except for the rat, all the Guardians are gone?”

“If by “rat” you mean raccoon then yes, he’s the only one left.”

Yondu shook his head suddenly looking fearful. “Quill ain’t here. I…I would know if my boy was here. And the others…” He trailed off.

The African man took another step forward. “You said that my son, King T’Challa was gone, but what about the rest of my family?”

“I knew you were his father.”

“I am T’Chaka, former King of Wakanda.” The elderly man wore a worried expression as he introduced himself properly. Loki hadn’t answered his question.

“Your wife and Shuri are fine. General Okoye and M’Baku are keeping a watchful eye over them.”

T’Chaka let out a deep sigh of relief and said, “T’Challa is not here. At one point he was on the brink of death and I knew he was so close. I do not feel that now. He must be somewhere else.”

“And I can tell you for sure that Wilson isn’t here,” said a pale man with light brown hair walking up beside Pietro.

Pietro turned to the man with a smile. “Riley, it’s been a while.” Pietro and Riley shook hands and Loki noticed that this Riley person had a jet pack on that was similar to Sam’s. Were there more of those winged jet packs?

Riley turned to Loki. “I used to be Wilson’s wingman in the 58th Pararescue.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “The wingman used to have a wingman?” Sam was a good fighter and a force to be reckoned with but it was really easy to just see him as the dear Captain’s wingman.

Riley shrugged. “I guess you could say that. But the point is, he isn’t here.” He said it with a glimmer of happiness, evidently he was glad his friend was still alive and kicking somewhere.

And then another new voice said, “And the somewhat helpful Spider-Boy isn’t here either.”

_For star’s sake, how many more people are going to come?_

This next new person was a man in about his late forties, his hair was dark brown except for his temples were starting to gray ever so slightly. His eyes were baby blue and they both had some wrinkles around them that crinkled up when he smiled. He wore simple Midgardian clothes, black trousers, a dark blue shirt, and a gray sweater vest. He had an air of wisdom and kindness around him, in other words he seemed very approachable.

“And you are?” Loki asked the gentleman.

“Ben Parker. I’m Spider-Man’s uncle… I’m sure that Peter and all these others that you mentioned are simply trapped in this Soul Gem thing.”

“Soul Stone,” Loki corrected.

Ben chuckled, “Stone, gem, it’s basically the same thing.”

“Not really, but okay.”

Pietro shook his head. “You have to excuse him, he’s ridiculously sassy.”

Ben smiled, his eyes twinkling in the lights given off by the sky. “Well, if I had the ability to perform a ritual that took me to the land of the dead and everyone kept asking silly questions and taking me away from my purpose, I’d be a little sassy too.” And Loki instantly liked this guy. “The power it must have taken to get here…I don’t really understand all of this magic stuff but, wow, what a responsibility.”

“Oh brother,” Yondu muttered out loud. “Are you going to say your “with great power comes great responsibility” thing that you always used to say to your dang nephew again? ‘Cause I don’t know how much more I can take of that.”

Ben chuckled again. “No, don’t worry. I won’t say it.”

“Good. Now, boy,” Yondu turned back to Loki. “I needed a minute to wrap my head around everything you was sayin’ and I think I got it now. As I said before, Quill ain’t here and neither are any of the other Guardians.”

Loki blinked a few times. “Not even Gamora?”

“No.”

“You are positive?”

“She ain’t here, boy.”

But Gamora had actually been physically killed by Thanos, she didn’t just disappear like the others. Unless… _"A soul for a soul."_ Unless her soul was the first one to be taken by the Soul Stone. It was a possibility. More like a reality given that Yondu said that she was not here.

Well, he only needed confirmation that Bucky and Dr. Strange were not here, then he could be on his way. And then as if someone had read his mind, a woman joined the group and said, “Sergeant Barnes is not here either.” She was British and dressed in old fashioned clothes, a dark blue knee long dress that wasn’t seductive in its design, but more practical. Her brunette hair was short and curly and she wore a red fedora hat. And before Loki even had to ask who she was she stated, “I’m Agent Peggy Carter.”

There was such a strength to her voice and to the way she held herself with her head held high. He had seen fierce women before, boy had he, but she just had something about her that made her seem different and special. Loki nodded after her introduction. “The way you said your name makes it sound like you are important, but I’m terribly sorry, I don’t know who you are.”

Agent Carter half smiled. “You are an Asgardian, yes? I would not expect you to.”

“She formed S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Pietro told Loki.

“Helped found it,” Agent Carter corrected.

Well, all that left was Strange and Loki had a feeling that the Ancient One would know if he was here or not, but she had become oddly quiet, thinking after he had listed off all who he was searching for. In fact it was like she was ignoring the entire group with her eyes closed in mild meditation. “Is she alright?” Loki asked no one in particular.

Ben answered, “When she was alive she could gaze into the future, now of course she can’t but she still has a very interesting intuition about her.”

“In other words,” Pietro said, “she’s magical even in death.”

Riley shook his head and scoffed to himself, “I really miss the good old days when me and Wilson flying around in winged jet packs was the craziest thing happening in the world.”  
“The world just keeps on getting crazier and crazier,” Loki said, repeating the words Bucky had said before the battle. Why did that feel like years ago?

The Ancient One suddenly opened her eyes. “Dr. Strange is not here either and I know the first thing you,” she pointed at Loki, “must do when you get back to the land of the living. You must find a way to contact Wong, if he is still there.”

“Wong?”

“Yes. He is usually with Dr. Strange to help him out with different complications that come up.”

“Yes, I know who he is. I met him very briefly. He said he had to protect the sanctuary that Bruce and I landed in.”

The Ancient One nodded. “He always was a good man when it came to protecting the sanctuaries.” She paused for one second, perhaps thinking about all those who she had left behind. Then she continued on. “If all who you have mentioned and everyone else is trapped in the Soul Stone, in the Soul World then Wong would know how to get there. He was the keeper of the library in Kamar-Taj and to the books that are in Dr. Strange’s sanctuary. If he is still in the plane of life, Wong would know which book would have the proper spell to get to the Soul World.”

Loki nodded at this new information. “Thank you. I’m sure that will be very helpful in the future.”

The Ancient One folded her hands behind her back. “May I say something else that might be helpful in the near future?” Loki nodded again. “The Mind Stone brought Vision to life in the first place, perhaps it can bring him back from death.”

Loki felt a twinge of guilt. He had completely forgotten about the wise and kind android. “He is here then?” She shook her head yes. “Well, um, yes. I will keep what you said in mind.” He wasn’t going to say that there was no possible way to get back the stone, considering that Thanos had it. He glanced up and around at all the odd and colorful people he had met that all seemed so interesting. He would have enjoyed getting to know some of them a bit better, but he had to leave soon. If only they were alive…oh well, he would be back here eventually for good. “Well…I suppose that is all. Thank you, all of you, for allowing me to take up some of your time.”

Yondu let out another hearty laugh. “Boy, we all are dead! Our time is the rest of eternity.”

Peggy and the Ancient One both rolled their eyes at the blue man, but Pietro and Riley both chuckled with him. T’Chaka and Ben shared a glance and then they both focused their attention back on Loki. T’Chaka was the first to speak. “You are very welcome. I hope you are safe with your travels and that you are successful in finding T’Challa and the rest of them.”

Loki sighed, “Me too.”

T’Chaka gave him a nod and then turned to leave. Ben came up to Loki and extended his hand out to him. Loki was shocked and hesitantly took the man’s hand. Ben shook his hand warmly and smiled. “Good luck. I’m sure that the Avengers will prevail. And you tell Peter when you see him that his uncle is proud of him.” Then Ben let go of his hand and left as well.

Riley was the next one to step forward. “I’m not really good with speeches of confidence or motivation. And you don’t have to tell Wilson… _Sam_ anything when you see him. Just…make sure the dummy doesn’t get himself killed.”

“That may be a little difficult to do, considering the fact that he is so bloody annoying,” Loki muttered.

Riley laughed, “You’re not wrong.” He waved goodbye to Pietro and the rest of the remaining group and then started walking away.

The Ancient One did not say a word, everything she had to say had already been said. So, instead she eyed Loki with her peculiar wise gaze and gave him a small nod. He nodded back and said, “I’ll find a way to contact Wong and get the others back.” She smiled with optimism and nodded in agreement, then she left the dwindling group.

Yondu picked at his teeth again. “Well, I reckon I should be gettin’ on my way too. It was an interesting visit, boy. When you get here permanently, you should come on by and talk some more.”

Loki deadpanned, “I will be counting down the years.” Yondu laughed, showing off those teeth of his again, and walked away, his long coat blowing back with each stride. The only people left standing with Loki was Pietro and this Agent Carter person. She had said very little since her arrival but now she looked like she was on the verge of saying much more. Loki noticed this. “Something on your mind, Agent Carter?”

She half smiled and adjusted her red hat. “I just wanted to say that I am sorry about your friends. To lose so many in so short of a time is incredibly painful.” She was an interesting one. The way she held herself made it very clear that she was not one to be trifled with and yet her soft and understanding tone that she had now made it obvious that she was more than just a strong female. She was a mixture of strength and femininity. Not afraid to punch someone down, but also not afraid to show her true emotions.

He nodded. “It’s fine. Now that I know they are not here…and I suppose in all reality I am not friends with these people.”

Agent Carter blinked in surprise. “No?”

“No,” he repeated. “Some of them I have not even met yet and the others I only met them yesterday so…I’m not a friend, I’m…I’m just a concerned individual.”

“A concerned individual would not risk so much to come to the land of the deceased. Whether you like it or not, I’d say that you consider most of these people to be your friends.”

_Well, she’s not wrong._

Agent Carter glanced at something behind Loki and Pietro and both of them turned around to see another man coming up towards them. And Loki had to do a double take because the man approaching them looked exactly like Stark. Well, not exactly, he was at least ten years younger than Stark. Pietro and Agent Carter both knew who this man was.  
Pietro waved and called out, “Hey! I didn’t think you would be coming. We don’t really need your help now.”

Agent Carter scoffed, “You’re right that we do not need his help, but Howard is the only person I know who would offer his help even if it is not needed, if only to show off his genius.”

The Stark lookalike, Howard, chuckled, “Jeez, Peg, you know me so well.” He stopped about two feet away from where Loki stood next to Pietro. It was amazing, from his thick brown hair and mustache down to his voice, Loki could have sworn that this man was a young Tony Stark. But that was impossible. Howard ran a hand through his hair and half chuckled at Loki’s wide confused eyes. “I guess I should explain why I’m here. I’m Howard Stark, Antony’s father. Well…I guess you would know him as Tony.”

“You’re Stark’s father?”

“Yeah. I know. The resemblance is uncanny.” Loki had to nod in agreement. “Anyways, I heard that there was a guy from the living here and I thought that maybe I would take this as an opportunity to get a message to Tony.”

Before Loki could think to say anything, Agent Carter sighed, “Howard, I realize you want to tell your son some things, but he,” she pointed to Loki, “has to worry about so many other things without trying to remember to tell-”

“Well, see? He doesn’t have to remember what to tell Tony. I wrote it all down on a note.” Howard pulled out of his brown pants pocket a folded piece of lined white paper. “I don’t know how the laws of nature work here. All these years and I still don’t understand it. But you sir, you have magic and power in order to get here. Maybe you could somehow bring my note with you to the living and give it to Tony?”

Loki honestly did not know why he said, “Alright, I will try,” or why he then took the folded up note from Howard. It wasn’t like he really liked Stark and felt obligated to be the message man between the afterlife plane and the living plane. Maybe…maybe it was because a parent was trying so hard to contact his child that pulled at his heartstrings. He didn’t know, but Howard beamed brightly when he said he would at least try.

Howard walked around Loki and Pietro towards Agent Carter. “How ‘bout it, Peg?”

“How about what?” she asked crossing her arms.

“How about you and your mister and me and my misses go to that old café that you used to go to all the time when you were working with the S.S.R. and see if we can relive the good old days?”

Agent Carter sighed, “Okay. Invite Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis, will you? If we are going to do this, we need to do it right.” Together Howard Stark and Agent Peggy Carter headed for the old fashioned New York City, preparing to meet their significant others and their friends.

Loki was left holding the folded up note with nobody except Pietro at his side. “Well,” Pietro started, gaining Loki’s attention. “I guess if you know that everyone you’re looking for is not here, then you should probably be heading on your way.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

“You need to go back to that field you woke up in.”

That made some sort of sense. In order to get back to the living plane he would need a quiet place to concentrate. “Alright, I will go back to-” Pietro grabbed his arm again and again the world became a blur of lights and colors. When it stopped, they were both standing in the green field with the blue sky with violet lights. Loki turned on Pietro. “Would you stop doing that?”

Pietro shrugged, “It’s what I do. Why do you see so surprised again? You didn’t see that coming?”

Loki bit back a comeback and sighed. He glanced down at the grass when he said, “Did you want me to say anything for you to Wanda?”

Pietro was silent for a few seconds, thinking about what the best thing to say was. “Just…tell her that I’m fine. Better than fine, actually. Well, don’t say that. Just tell her not to worry or to feel sad when she thinks about me.” He nodded to himself. “I think that is good.”

Loki nodded. “You’re fine, tell her not to worry or be sad. Alright.” They both stood in the field in a silence feeling the light breeze. Loki should thank him for helping him, or apologize for being so impatient, but he wasn’t sure on how to go about it and he wasn’t sure if he had enough time to think about it. And as to why Pietro was hesitant about leaving, well, it could have been because Loki was the only person he had met in a long time who knew his sister and he wanted to latch onto anyone who could tell him anything at all about his twin. 

But time was ticking away and they both knew that.

“I should let you do whatever it is that you need to do so you can get back,” Pietro said turning away to leave.

“Um, yeah. Hey, uh,” Pietro turned back around. Loki didn’t know at all what to say. It seems that he had that problem a lot lately. He slightly smiled and said, “See you around, Quicksilver.”

Pietro smiled at finally being recognized and called by his super hero name. “Yes, but hopefully not too soon!” Then he left, a blur of blue racing back to Sokovia. 

Well, the entire thing had been fascinating and he was glad to say that he did not get into any real arguments with anyone. This had been easier than assembling the Avengers. A lot easier actually. He glanced at the folded note in his hand from Howard to his son. Curiosity seized him for a moment but he reframed from reading it. This was none of his business, besides if Stark told Bruce about it, the contents of the note would eventually get back to him.

Now came the fun part: getting back. It was simple enough, he just needed to close his eyes and concentrate on waking up and when he did he would wake up back in the living plane. Simple. Well…in theory. He was suddenly hit with a tremendous feeling of lightheadedness and standing there in the beautiful green field had become very difficult.

_Oh no…_

And before he knew it he had fallen to the ground. Oh, please don’t tell him that he had gone through all of that and found out that he was right just to be trapped here. No. There was still time, there had to be. How long had he been here? Fifteen, twenty minutes most? He just had to concentrate. So he sat there with his eyes closed and tried to concentrate. But his concentration was broken by a woman saying, “Apparently, I did not make it very clear how dangerous this spell is.”

Loki’s eyes popped open and he saw, standing only a few feet away from him, his mother dressed in a yellow and blue silky dress with her long golden brown hair pulled into an arrange of curls. He should not have been shocked. He had no reason to be. He was in the bloody afterlife plane after all and yet he stared up at her in disbelief. “Mother?”

She smiled her usual smile, a mix of warmth and understanding. She stepped closer and closer until she was right in front of him and she got down on her knees so they were at eye level. She continued to look at him with her affectionate gaze and all he could do was stare on in his shocked silence, feeling far too many emotions at one time. After what felt like a lifetime had passed in silence his mother slightly chuckled, “What? No hug?”

He didn’t need her to say it again. At the same time mother and son at long last got to be reunited in a way they both had been denied for so long. How Loki had missed her. His dear mother, the only one who never gave up on him and always, always saw the potential in him. “I can’t believe it’s really you,” he whispered still holding onto her in their tight hug.

“My dear boy, I can’t believe you are here.” She patted his back and ran her fingers through his hair in the way she had done when he was a child. It made him never want to leave. 

He should just be happy for this moment together but what could he say, he wanted more. But the thought of being here, in this happy place with his mother made him remember his feelings that he did not deserve love. He whispered it all in a teary eyed rush. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. For everything, for what I did, for not being able to save you, for-”

“Loki,” his mother said in her tone that she used to get everyone’s attention. She never had to raise her voice, she just had to change her tone slightly and then everyone stopped talking. “You need to stop putting the weight of things that you are not responsible for on your shoulders. You blame yourself for everything and I am here to tell you that you are not to blame.”

He slightly pulled away from her embrace so he could look into her eyes. “I…I know…deep down that you’re right…but-”

“No. No “buts”. I want you to know that you were always loved. By me, by your father, by your brother. I know it was unequal,” she paused to glance down at the ground, her feelings of failing to have Loki feel more loved shining through, “but I want you to never forget that. You were loved and you _are_ loved…You have to leave now.”

“No,” he said shaking his head.

With both of her hands on his shoulders she said softly, “Take care of yourself and Thor. You both need each other so I want you both to stop pushing each other away.”

Wasn’t that just like her? To give him one more motherly command that he would promise to keep and would more than likely end up breaking. But now was not the time to be pessimistic. Now was the time to actually get the chance to say a proper goodbye. “Mother,” he started feeling the tears in the back of his eyes start to push forward. He saw her tears too, her longing to either go with him or for him to stay, but neither were possible. “I…I miss you so much. And every day I wish that I had had a chance to tell you how much I love you.”

His mother smiled softly wiping the tears from his face. “I miss you too and I know how much you loved me. I love you too. The only piece of advice I can say is, if you hate living with the regret then do not hide your true feelings from anyone. Talk to Thor, to your friends. Tell them how much they mean to you before you no longer have the chance to.” Why did she always have the answer for everything? Was she born this wise? “Goodbye, my boy,” she whispered. And then the last thing he remembered was hugging her again, feeling her arms around him and then everything started to turn into a hazy fog and he felt himself start to wake up.

…

The past seven hours could only be described as tiredly interesting. 

After Bruce had agreed to help Thor talk to Loki, they both had causally strolled to the room where they had originally left him in. But then Loki came rushing out of the room, nearly knocked them both over, and ran away saying something about testing a theory or whatever. Well, Thor, that Nebula girl, and of course himself all ran after him to see what the heck he was talking about. By the time they reached him he was already laying on the metal table in Shuri’s lab, seemingly asleep, but there was this really weird faint green glow around his hands that made it clear that he was not just sleeping. “What did he just do?” Nebula had asked walking up to the three men in the room.

The three men of course were Rhodey, Steve, and Tony. Rhodey shrugged looking as confused as Bruce felt, Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Tony interrupted him. “He said he wanted to test a theory? I dunno, it was really odd. Then he muttered something about walking with the dead and his hands got all glowy. I was very confused.”

“It’s a ritual,” Thor said standing next to his sleeping brother. “I remember. He tried every spell and ritual in our mother’s books except for one that allowed you to go to the world of the dead.”

There was a moment of silence before Tony had asked, “So, there’s a way to go to a heaven-like place and see dead people?”

Steve had tiredly rolled his eyes and asked the real question that was on everyone’s minds. “Why would he need to go there in order to test whatever his theory is?”

Once again, it was silent because nobody had the answer or even part of one. In Bruce’s mind it was clear that Loki was going to be out of it for a while and none of them were doing anybody any favors by still being this dead tired. Because as he looked around at the people in the room, that’s what he saw. Dead tired people. And after a couple minutes of convincing them, mostly Tony, Steve, and Thor needed convincing, everyone agreed to go off and get some sleep. Well, mostly. Rhodey had left to find an empty room to sleep in, so had Steve. Nebula and Thor refused to leave Shuri’s lab where Loki was still sleeping. So Nebula sat at the silver table Bruce had sat at earlier and fell asleep leaning over it with her head against her crossed arms and Thor sat off to the sidelines on the stairs and kept nodding off. Tony apparently was running off of some sort of caffeine or adrenaline or some sort of Monster energy drink or whatever because the man refused to sleep. It was probably just determination to find Thanos and get back those who were lost that kept Tony going. Point was, he kept pacing in the lab typing at his cellphone for news updates. That was the last thing Bruce remembered before he fell asleep sitting in a chair leaning against the wall.

How long was anyone’s guess though, because he was startled and awoken by a pat against his leg and a voice saying, “Hey, you gonna wake up or not?”

He slowly cracked open his eyes. Tony was sitting in a chair looking like he might be asleep and that raccoon named Rocket was standing next to Bruce’s chair with his arms crossed. He had been the one to wake him up. Bruce rubbed his head and muttered, “Yeah, what is it?”

Rocket sighed, “The blonde chick dressed in far too much leather wanted me to tell you that she, the genius kid, the kid’s mother, and that guy in the fury outfit all went to meet the new arrivals.”

Bruce was awake now. “New arrivals?”

“Yeah.”

“Who are they-what’d they look like?”

“Which question would you like me to answer?”

“Both,” Bruce grumbled.

“Well, there were two guys and one girl. The girl had long dark hair and is pretty tall and slender like. The one guy had dark hair too and has this weird red and black suit. And then the other guy had light hair, light eyes, and strangely enough, a bow and arrow.”

“Oh, God,” Bruce murmured.

Rocket half laughed, “That’s what blondie said you’d say.”

Oh, this was not good. At all. He had no idea who the woman was and the man with the red and black suit was probably this Scott “Ant-Man” person, but the man with the bow and arrow was more than likely one Clint Barton A.K.A. Hawkeye. With Tony showing up, the staying up forever talking about what to do next, learning about what really happened to Loki, and now dozing on and off, he had completely forgotten that Nat and Steve had called Clint and that he was coming to Wakanda with this Scott person. And he doubted that either one of them had mentioned to Clint that Loki was here.

Bruce was in the motion of hurriedly standing up from his chair when Loki suddenly sat up with a gasp and was wide awake. Oh, what a time to wake up. “Loki?” he asked stepping up next to him. He was breathing deeply and fast. Maybe a bit too fast. “Hey, are you okay?”

Loki slightly turned his head to glance at him. He seemed a little disoriented but when he caught Bruce’s eye, he said in his still scratchy voice, “Bruce?”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

Loki half smiled. “I’m back.”

“Back?” Rocket asked walking closer to the sleeping Tony. “Where’d you go? ‘Cause all I saw was you sleeping.” Rocket started nudging Tony until the man woke up and pushed the raccoon away. “Hey, don’t touch me,” Rocket growled.

“Then don’t touch me first,” Tony snapped back. It was funny how similar Tony and Rocket were. Sure, one was a human from Earth, the other was a raccoon from space, but they both were spitfires and very, what was the right word, reclusive when it came to their real selves. Hell, Loki probably fell into that category too. Tony saw Loki sitting up and said, “Oh, Reindeer Games is up. Now we can see what the heck he was talking about.”

Loki swung his legs over the edge of the table, hopped down off of it onto the floor, saw Thor and Nebula sleeping, sighed, and told Bruce, “You wake my brother, I’ll wake up Nebula.”

“Yeah, okay, but um…” Loki was already walking to the table were Nebula sat. Bruce sighed and went over to Thor to wake him up. All Bruce did was barely put his hand on Thor’s shoulder and the man woke up. It startled him. “Hey! Oh, good you’re uh, you’re awake.”

“What is it?” Thor asked.

“Well, uh-”

“Your brother’s awake and apparently that’s a big deal,” Rocket said standing off to the side with his arms still crossed.

Thor stood up in a rush and saw Loki talking to the now awake Nebula. “Loki, are you now going to explain what is happening?”

Loki turned around to face his brother. “Yes. My theory was correct and Nebula said that you all got some much needed rest while I was in the afterlife plane.”

“The what now?” Rocket asked.

Loki didn’t stop to answer his question. “Which is good because we have a lot to do and we need to be at our best…Me too.” Loki hesitantly waved his hand over his neck and throat and a flash of green healed it up as good as new with not even a trace of a bruise.

“Whoa!” Rocket exclaimed. “Are you tellin’ me that he could’ve done that the whole time?”

Tony shrugged. “Reindeer Games is a wizard.” 

Loki rolled his eyes at being called a wizard but before he could correct Tony, he noticed something in his hand: it was a folded up note. Loki half smiled, stepped closer to Tony, and handed him the note. Tony looked confused and Loki just shook his head. “Don’t make me explain.” Tony took the note from him and Loki turned back to the group, fully ready to tell them everything.

But Bruce cut in with, “Guys, this is great and everything but I think you all need to know something. Rocket said that Natasha was meeting with Cl-”

And as if he knew he was about to be talked about, Clint Barton with his eagle eyes and dressed in his long ago S.H.I.E.L.D. issued uniform carrying his bow and slung over his shoulder was a container of arrows, came charging into the room. “Clint, wait!” called Natasha but it was too late. He was already in the room and he had already spotted Loki.

“Oh, hell no,” Clint said in a dangerously low voice. He was already pulling out an arrow, lining it up on his bow, and pulling it back, ready at any moment to release it and hit his target. Unfortunately, Loki was his target. Thor and Nebula both looked about ready to jump Clint if necessary, Tony and Rocket both just watched on in amazement, Bruce was trying to talk Clint down or at least stall him long enough until Natasha made it back into the room, and Loki had taken several steps backwards when the archer had charged towards him and aimed an arrow at his head and held his hands up in surrender. 

He was obviously shocked and maybe even a bit frightened but he still managed to come up with a smart quip. “Well, I picked a terrible time to wake up, didn’t I?”

_“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “”  
Author’s Note: Frigga in the afterlife plane. Did you all see it coming? Yes? No? Maybe? _

_I could not have Loki be in the afterlife plane and not see Uncle Ben. He is such an iconic character for the Marvel universe and as happy as I am that the MCU Spider-Man does not have the same origin that we all already know, I miss that we never got to meet him. So…here he is. With a line about responsibility and power and everything._

_I freaking love Yondu and I wish that the guy didn’t die. (Darn it James Gunn!) But what can you do? I honestly would love to write something else at some point either with just the Guardians and Yondu or just Yondu by himself. I can’t contain all the ideas in my head…hmm…I have plenty of ideas for stories and not enough time to write them._

_The Zemo family and Riley are just little cameos for those who are as obsessed with CA: The Winter Solider and CA: Civil War as I am. Also I needed someone who would know if Sam was there or not so…_

_I’ll tell you what Howard’s note said to Tony. I promise. Just not right now._

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter!_

_P.S. To my friend Samantha, I put Agent Carter in the story with her red hat, are you happy?_


End file.
